Tears and Laughter
by yellowdaisy58
Summary: After a devastating heartbreak, Andy is just trying to get by. Set after 2x06.
1. Chapter One

**Hi! I haven't taken a course with anything to do with writing in years and this is the first story I've ever written, so there may very well be many errors of all kinds for which I apologize. So just wanted to put that out there. Also, feel free to review. Bad, good, whatever. Oh and I always see people saying this so I figure I must as well - I don't own anything Rookie Blue. **

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><p>"Trace, how did I not see this coming?" Andy lifted her head from her knees just enough to make eye contact with her friend and now temporary roommate.<p>

"How could you have? He asked you to marry him, Andy. That kind of says that he's committed to you," Traci spoke softly, but Andy could see the anger in her eyes. She was grateful that her friend was able to take her in for the next few days while she got her shit together, and was especially thankful that Leo was with his dad for the weekend, "Besides, Luke really does not give off the cheater vibe. If it makes you feel better, he had me fooled too. I really thought he was a good one"

"That's the thing Trace, I think he is a good one. That's why this is so hard. I wish I just felt anger right now. I mean, obviously I'm furious but there's so much more to it. I'm sad, I'm confused, I'm frustrated, I'm embarrassed, and it honestly feels like there is a knife through my heart." Her eyes were bloodshot and her voice was muffled was the tears falling down her face. She barely managed to get the sentence out before tucking her face back into her knees and leaning against the arm of the couch she currently inhabited.

Traci sat on the chair across from where Andy had curled into a ball, watching helplessly as her friend cried. Her mind turned to Jerry, and she shuttered at the thought of him in another woman's arms.

"Andy, you have nothing to be embarrassed about," Traci started, "He is the one who should be embarrassed."

Without lifting her head, Andy responded, "I know everyone is going to say that but I'm the one whose going to get all the 'Are you okay?' questions, with the sympathetic head tilts and the pity smiles."

Traci knew she was right but tried anyways, "Well, that beats all of the 'you're a douche bag' looks he's going to get."

Andy sighed, lifting her head only to retort, "Is it really, though?" Once her face was once again buried in the sweatpants covering her knees, she mumbled, "You know, Jo practically told me she was going after Luke."

Traci lifted an eyebrow, "When?"

Andy looked up, the anger clear on the face, "The day of the fire at the Laundromat. I went into the D's office and she told me how the husband killed himself and burned the place down so his wife could get the insurance money. Then I said something about how when you love someone you let them go and then she said, get this," Andy paused for dramatic effect and finished in an obnoxious accent, "Not me, when I love something I hold it in a death grip and never let it go"

Traci's mouth dropped, "Wow."

Frowning, Andy nodded. She sighed loudly before pulling her knees back up to her chest, "How could I not have known?"

"Andy, seriously you can't think like that. Why would you think this would happen? He proposed to you!" Traci made no attempt to hide her contempt for him.

"But even then, he didn't really. I found the ring, Trace." Tears kept falling as she wiped them away with the back of her hand.

"You found the ring he bought for you. He was planning on proposing anyways, why does it matter when or how it happened?"

Andy just sighed in response, tucking her face back into her knees.

Traci heard the kettle whistle and disappeared into the kitchen only to reemerge minutes later with two mugs of tea. Handing one to Andy, she smiled sympathetically, "Andy, I just want you to know that it is taking all the self control I have not to drive over there and beat the shit out of him right now."

Andy laughed lightly and thanked her for the tea before sipping it hesitantly. Content with the temperature, she took a longer swig.

"Seriously Andy, he's an idiot. And I wouldn't want to be him when Chris and Dov find out," Her tone was serious but her eyes were light with humor as she to began sipping on her tea. After a few minutes of silence, Traci eyes widened, "Oh my g-d."

Andy looked at her quizzically, "What?"

"Swarek. He is literally going to kill him." Traci's face was completely serious and Andy couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Oh common Traci, Sam is not going to kill Luke" She kept laughing, though she wasn't sure if it was at her friends gross exaggeration or at the image of Sam beating Luke up, again.

"Andy, you did not see the way he yelled at Shaw when you got yourself stuck in the Laundromat, and it wasn't even his fault!" With her eyes still wide, Traci took another sip of her tea.

"First of all, I did not get myself stuck in there. I followed a civilian in, which anyone would have done. And secondly, this is different. That was work and this is my personal life, in which Sam does not have much interest in." Andy's smile faded, recalling the many times Sam vocalized his disapproval in her life decisions.

This time it was Traci's turn to laugh, "Really? Andy McNally, you really are in your own world." She continued to laugh as she put her mug down on the coffee table and once again disappeared into the kitchen.

Andy smiled at her friend, shrugging off the light-hearted insult; Traci never understood her friendship with Sam, and she knew she wasn't about to start now. For a few moments Andy felt fine, until she remembered why she was on Traci's couch instead of asleep in her own bed at her own house. _Their house_… The thought caused tears to start falling again. Frustrated at her mess of an emotional state, Andy sighed loudly and thumped further into the couch.

Traci could hear the tears and the following thump from the kitchen and rushed to finish cutting the left over cake from Leo's birthday the other day into generous slices. After throwing the cake back into the fridge she hurried into the living room, simultaneously placing the pieces of cake on the table and pulling Andy out of the fetal position.

"Andy! No fetal position! Take the cake." Her tone was authoritative enough to make Andy listen, yet soft enough to still be comforting.

Relieved that Andy had followed her orders, Traci took her the plate holding the piece of cake she had cut for herself and sat back in her chair. They ate silently for a few minutes, both consumed with the dessert in front of them.

Traci was thinking back to her son's birthday as she took a forkful of the vanilla cake into her mouth, treasuring the memory of Jerry showing Leo how to use his new baseball set when Andy interrupted her thoughts.

"You know, when I first met Luke I didn't find him that attractive." Traci looked up at her friend and saw silent tears falling down her face.

"I mean, obviously I could see that he was good looking, but he really wasn't my type at all," She continued, "But he was _so_ nice. Like, really genuinely nice. And I had never really dated a nice guy before. All through high school I dated jerks and my dad was always telling me to quit dating losers and pick a nice boy. So when Luke started showing interest I thought it was about time I listened to my dad." Andy laughed without humor and Traci smiled sadly at her.

When she didn't continue, Traci made a small attempt at humor, "He really isn't even that good looking."

Pausing with her fork full of cake mid-air, Andy raised an eyebrow. "Oh common, he is pretty much Detective Ken." She shoved her fork into her mouth as Traci smiled at her reference to the doll she had been obsessed with as a child.

They both continued to eat, Andy attempting to turn her jumble of thoughts into coherent sentences while Traci patiently waited, knowing her friend well enough not to push.

A handful of minutes passed before Andy put her plate down and spoke up again, "When did life get so complicated?"

Traci responded quickly without looking up from her plate, "October 13th, 2005."

Andy stared at her friend, puzzled.

"That was the day I found out I was pregnant with Leo. Also, it was the day of my chemistry exam. Which I failed, by the way." Tracy smiled up at Andy, "That day changed my life. I always thought I would be a chemist, but after that I had to totally change my plans."

Andy couldn't help but giggle at the idea of her friend in a lab coat, "That must have been tough."

"You know? It really was." Tracy laughed at Andy's giggle, pleasantly surprised to get a laugh out of her.

It was silent for a minute or two, both deep in thought about their lives. Andy reflected over her adult life, trying to pinpoint when she lost control. Sure, she had never been much for planning but she always had at least a small amount of control over her life. But now, sitting on her friends couch eating leftover birthday cake, she realized she had absolutely none anymore.

"It was the first day on the job."

Tracy looked up at her and raised an eyebrow, "What was?"

"The day my life got complicated. The second I tackled Sam to the ground, actually. That started the tension between us. Which led to him sending me into that damn warehouse, and indirectly into meeting Luke. And the tension between Sam and me eventually led to the blackout, which led to a shit ton of confusion and, weirdly enough, that whole situation strengthened my relationship with Luke. And now I'm here." Andy flailed her arms around, as if it helped prove her point.

With her eyebrow still raised Traci pointed out a hole in her theory, "Andy, you would have met Luke regardless."

"Yes, but under a different pretense. And then none of this would have happened."

"So, basically, this is all Swarek's fault?" Traci asked the question with her eyebrow raised even higher.

Andy considered the question before smirking and responding "Sounds good to me."

Traci laughed and shook her head, "Andy, I love you but that is ridiculous."

Andy laughed for a moment before all the humor left her face. "I can't believe this is my life."

Traci was caught off guard by the abrupt end of laughter and her heart broke a little at the deep sadness in her friend's voice. "Andy, you will get through this."

"How do you know?" Andy's voice came out broken, almost child-like.

"Because," Traci paused, waiting for Andy to look up at her.

Andy hesitated before looking up and locking eyes with Traci, "You don't really have any other option."

They held the eye contact for a minute or two before Andy nodded, "I guess that's true."

Traci smiled, "Besides, I would never let you fall." Andy smiled back and began laughing.

Once again caught off guard by the yo-yo of her friend's emotions Traci raised her eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, that was just really corny." Andy's laughter intensified and she snorted, at which Traci had to laugh out loud. Before long, the two friends were lying next to each other on the floor in a fit of laughter. Neither were really sure why but it didn't matter as they were both too relieved that tears of laugher had replaced those of sadness.

The hours passed as the girls reminisced about their rookie days and Andy felt the emptiness in her slowly fade. By the time they went to sleep, she was pretty sure that everything was going to be okay.


	2. Chapter Two

**First of all, I just want to thank everyone who reviewed the first chapter. It really means a lot to me! ****Secondly, I forgot to mention that the first chapter follows episode 2x06. And this chapter is the next day. ****And lastly, again there are probably quite a few mistakes of all kinds in this chapter. I apologize in advance.**

**Oh and I don't own anything. **

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><p>When Traci's alarm went off at 7:30AM, Andy felt like shit. She heard Traci groan as she felt the mattress move and watched as her friend dragged herself into the bathroom after pausing briefly to open the blinds. The sunlight filled the room and left Andy no choice but to wake up. By the time Traci came out of the bathroom Andy was sitting upright on the foot of the bed.<p>

"Oh Andy, you look horrible." Traci's voice was sympathetic even though her words were harsh.

"That's surprising because I feel great." Andy put on the best cheery voice she could manage and Traci laughed. Andy moved to get up but Traci gently pushed her back down.

"No, Andy. You need more sleep." Her tone reminded Andy of her father's when she was a child.

"That's a nice thought but I have to go to work." Andy stared at her legs, waiting for them to carry her to the bathroom.

"Don't worry about, I'll tell Best you have food poisoning. That should give you a few days." Andy was silent for a minute, considering the idea, before she shook her head.

"Thanks but I can't just not go to work when something bad happens in my personal life." Traci stared at her friend, cursing her stubborn nature.

"Actually, you can. They are called 'personal days', and everybody takes them every once in a while." Andy could tell Traci was trying to maintain a comforting tone but she could hear her frustration and she started to feel a little guilty; Traci looked exhausted.

"Trace…" She had meant to argue to her point one more time but once she had begun speaking she realized she wasn't sure she had any energy to fight.

"Andy, seriously. Please just take the day. Sleep a little more, watch some Oprah, eat some cake, sleep again, you know… whatever." At this point, Traci was practically pleading.

Smiling up at her friend, Andy replied, "The Oprah Show ended like last year."

Relieved to see a smile and a hint of the real Andy McNally, Traci smirked. "You know what I meant."

Silence filled the air as Andy considered her friends suggestion until her thoughts were interrupted by Traci's gasp.

"Shit, it's already 8:00. Okay, times up McNally. Stay or go?" Traci had already begun throwing things in her bag as she spoke and Andy realized she hadn't even brushed her teeth yet.

"Stay," She mumbled.

"Good." And with that, Traci grabbed her bag and was out the door.

Andy had tried to fall back asleep but after a sleepless hour of lying in bed, she had given up and wondered into the living room. She found the remote buried under one of the cushions of the couch and started flipping through the channels. Eventually, she settled for a marathon of some trashy show about 'guidos' and 'guidettes'.

She was surprisingly intrigued by the characters' drunken shenanigans and she only found herself crying during commercials when the distraction was gone and she remembered what had happened the day before. Before she knew it she heard the front door open. She glanced at the clock and realized it was almost one o'clock.

Not wanting to get up, she called out from the couch, "Hello?"

"Andy, it's just me." She could barely hear the response over the fist pumping on the TV but she assumed it was Traci.

A few seconds later, Traci appeared beside the TV carrying a take-out bag from the Chinese restaurant located a block from the barn. Andy hadn't realized she was hungry until she smelled the wonton soup.

"Have you eaten yet today? Or moved at all?" Traci had her mommy voice on and it made Andy blush like a child.

"No," She kept her eyes on the TV so she wouldn't have to see her friend's expression, which she was sure was one of concern, "and no."

Traci sighed. "Okay, well I have to get back to the barn but please eat this," She placed the bag on the coffee table before kneeling beside Andy on the couch, "Seriously, you have to eat. And you should probably move at some point too."

Andy glanced at her friend and she realized how lucky she was to have her, "I will. Thank you for bringing lunch. I really appreciate it." She tried to smile as much as she could but she was pretty sure she wasn't doing a very good job.

"No problem. Now eat, please." Traci had meant to sound commanding but after seeing her friend's broken smile, she couldn't manage anything other than loving.

Andy sat up when she heard the front door click shut and reached for the brown bag, pulling out the soup container and a spoon. A new episode was starting as she started to eat.

A few hours later, she was still watching the same people on TV get drunk when she heard her phone 'ping' from the coffee table. She reached for her phone, frowning. Since she had left her and Luke's house the night before, she had been getting apology texts from Luke almost every hour. However, she was pleasantly surprised when she saw that the message was not from him.

'_McNally, remember when I helped you with that plumbing that one time? I'm ready to call on my favor now."_

She stared at the screen for a minute or two, caught off guard by the image of Sam texting, before typing her response, "_Didn't realize you were keeping count. Does saving your ass from Landry not count?_"

She stared at the TV as she waited for his response but wasn't really taking in anything that was happening. She heard the 'ping' and looked down at her phone expectantly.

"_You really want to go there, McNally? Ray Swann."_ She could practically hear the smirk in his voice as she read the words on the screen of her phone.

Andy narrowed her eyes as she typed, "_Whatever. What do you want?_"

"_Which one?_" She raised her eyebrows as she read his message, not understanding what he was referring to.

She heard her phone 'ping' twice more and when she opened the messages she saw two pictures, both of dollhouses. Now understanding his question, she took a minute to exam the pictures carefully. The dollhouses were almost identical, only differing in their coloring. One was pink with a white roof and the other was yellow with a grey roof.

Andy smiled as she typed, "_Didn't realize you were into that kind of thing, but knowing you I'd say the pink one_." She kept smiling at her self-perceived cleverness as she turned her attention back to the TV.

Less than a minute later, she had his response in her hand, "_That's hilarious McNally._"

Andy found herself curious as to why Sam would be in a toy store picking out a dollhouse and she had to ask, "_Seriously though, what's it for?_"

"_It's Jerry's birthday next week. Wanted to get him something special_." She rolled her eyes, once again reading the message in his voice. This time, it was the voice he puts on when he thinks he's being funny.

She typed quickly and sent off her response, "_You're not nearly as funny as you think you are_."

In a matter of only seconds she heard another 'ping', " _:'( _".

When she glanced at the message, she laughed out loud. She was having a hard enough time picturing Sam texting, let alone using emoticons.

She was still laughing as she typed her response, "_How old are you? I thought only teenage girls use emoticons_"

Ten minutes passed and she still hadn't gotten a text back from Sam. She was beginning to worry that she had actually offended him when she heard the 'ping'. She quickly snatched her phone from the coffee table and opened the message.

"_LOL_." This time, she really laughed.

Her fingers pressed the keys as she kept laughing, "_Seriously, who taught you how to text?_"

"_Jerry._" After opening his most recent message, Andy now understood. Traci had told her on many different occasions about Jerry's efforts to remain 'hip'.

A few more hours passed as they continued texting and Andy was surprised when she heard the front door open again. However, she was not as surprised as Traci.

"You're smiling! And laughing!" Traci was beaming when Andy looked up from her phone.

Andy hadn't noticed the shift in her mood. In fact, she hadn't really noticed anything in the last few hours. She looked at the clock and saw that it was already six o'clock; it had been almost three hours since she had thought of Luke.

Her phone 'ping'-ed again and Traci look at the phone quizzically before asking, "Who are you texting?"

Andy responded distractedly while she read the message, "Sam."

Traci widened her eyes, "Swarek texts?"

"I know. Surprising, eh?" Andy looked up at her and smiled before continuing, "Guess who taught him?"

Traci laughed when she realized who Andy was referring to, "Let me guess, he texts like a teenage girl?"

Andy laughed at how quickly her friend had caught on and nodded, "He really, really does."

Traci laughed and shook her head as she picked up the empty food cartons on the table and carried them into the kitchen while muttering, "Oh Jerry…"

Andy got up and helped clean up the rest of the mess she had made throughout the course of the day. The girls chatted about what Andy had missed at the division that day while they washed and dried the dishes.

Traci was shocked when she had returned home to a happy Andy McNally and was slightly worried that she had found some of the Percocet left over from when Leo had to have surgery a few years back. But she was pleasantly surprised that she was genuinely feeling better and not in a drug induced high. However, she was not surprised that it was Swarek that managed to pull her out of her cloud of depression. Traci's thoughts were interrupted when she heard another 'ping'.

She looked over Andy, who was leaning against the counter smiling and typing on her phone.

Traci smiled and shook her head at the image of Swarek sitting somewhere texting, "If you're going to text all night, can you at least put that thing on silent?"

Andy looked over at her and glared before setting her phone to vibrate.

They girls spent the rest of the night cleaning up the kitchen and laughing as Traci told stories about Jerry's various antics. Andy was grateful that Traci didn't bring up Luke and she was proud of herself that she had made it through the day. Her phone kept buzzing throughout the night and only a handful of the messages were from Luke. Though each message from him upset her, she deleted them all without responding and was quickly distracted by a message from Sam.

As they got into bed and she and Traci said their goodnights while she and Sam texted their goodnights, Andy reflected on her day. Her heart still ached and her head was still a mess but she had made it through day one, and that had to count for something.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes: **Again, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the last two chapters. I really love hearing your thoughts and opinions and I appreciate that you take to write them! I'm glad you liked the last chapter, I was worried about how it came out because I wrote it in a few hours and didn't proofread it as well as I should have.

**A bit of a summary**: I know it's a little late in the game to write a summary but I want to let you know where the story is going. So this chapter is the day after the last chapter and Andy is back to work. I tried to incorporate some Sam and Andy time but I really want their relationship to progress naturally and true to character so there isn't much. However, things do start getting heavier in the next chapter.

Oh and I don't own anything.

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><p>The girls made it to the barn with two minutes until parade. They had slept through Traci's alarm and then had spent twenty minutes arguing over whether or not Andy should come to work today. Andy had ended up winning the argument but she felt like she had lost something bigger when she walked into the division and the first thing she saw was Luke. When they made eye contact, he began to work towards her but before he could get within five feet Traci grabbed Andy by the jacket and pulled her into the women's locker room.<p>

After quickly throwing on their uniforms, they exited the locker room. Andy only made it a few steps before she heard him walking beside her.

"Running a little late McNally?" His deep voice broke her thoughts and she glanced over at him as he pushed the door into the parade room open. He paused to hold the door for her, all while smirking at her. She smiled distractedly as she passed by to her usual seat at the front.

Sam watched as she moved passed him, taking in the exhaustion written all over her face. He considered asking her why she looked so tired but decided against it, realizing he probably didn't want to know. He had just sat down in his normal seat next to Oliver when Best began.

Andy didn't hear a word Best had said in parade, her heart was beating rapidly and her eyesight was blurry. She really had felt better when she was falling asleep the night before, but when she woke up and realized what was ahead of her that day she couldn't help but shed a few tears. After she had seen Luke when she walked through the front doors of the division, she couldn't remember why she insisted on coming to work.

Andy's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her name. When she looked up she realized the only people left in the room were herself and Sergeant Best. Judging by his tone, she was sure it wasn't the first time he had called her name trying to get her attention. Sh

"McNally, are you sure you're feeling well enough to work patrol today? Traci told me about the food poisoning. I've been there, it's not pretty." Andy was surprised to see genuine concern on his face; she hadn't thought anyone would actually buy the food poisoning story.

"Yes, I'm feeling a lot better," She lied, "But thank you."

Frank just nodded and turned to walk away. It wasn't until he was out the door that Andy realized she had no idea who she was partnered with; however, her question was answered quickly by someone clearing his throat at the door.

"McNally, you ready?"

0o0

"McNally, you look like shit."

Andy glanced over at her senior officer and rolled her eyes in response before letting her head fall back against the window of the cruiser.

Oliver took another bite of his BLT before trying again, "I hear you've got yourself some food poisoning?"

She sighed and let out a mumbled response, "Yupp."

"It's some nasty shit. I've been there. If you need me to pull over just lemme know," He smiled knowingly at her before he took another bite and turned his eyes back to the road.

Normally she would try harder to be polite and respectful to Oliver but she was still reeling from the almost encounter with Luke earlier that morning so she just mumbled a 'thank you'.

Oliver got the hint and stopped trying to make conversation. The morning had gone by relatively quickly. They had only had two calls and both had taken less than an hour so Andy figured she must have dozed off while they were driving around between the calls. On any other day, she would be embarrassed but today she could care less. She heard her stomach grumble and only then realized that she hadn't eaten anything since the piece of cake she had for breakfast.

Oliver must have also heard it because at that moment he brought up lunch, even though he had just finished a croissant not ten minutes ago. "Sounds like it's lunch time!"

His cheery tone made her groan in annoyance. Thankfully, he didn't seem to notice, "Alright with you if we eat at the barn? I have to help Jerry with something."

Before she could even respond she watched as he turned onto the street on which their division is located. Groaning again, but this time loud enough for him to hear, she responded, "Well, I guess it'll have to be."

He looked over at her, surprise clear on his face, as he was pulling into the barn. "What's gotten into you McNally?"

She ignored his question as his put the cruiser into park, "So, meet back at the cruiser in an hour?"

She was already out the door when he responded, "Yeah, okay."

0o0

"So, Jerry tells me you got Leo a kick-ass baseball set for his birthday last week." Sam kept his eyes on the road but he could hear Traci smile at the mention of her son. They had just had a pretty difficult domestic violence call that had taken all morning and he could tell she could use a little pick-me-up.

"Did he?" Traci couldn't help but smile at the idea of her boyfriend talking about her son with his friends.

"Yeah, at the Penny a few nights back. He really loves that kid, you know?" Sam smirked as he looked out the window at the passing park. Without intending to, he pretty much just guaranteed his friend some action.

Traci was practically beaming at this point, "That's good, I was really hoping I wouldn't have to trade Leo in."

Sam laughed as he looked over at her. He hadn't really known Traci all that well until they started getting partnered together a few weeks back and he was pleasantly surprised that she has a sense of humor. And also that she doesn't talk too much, like McNally, or too little, like Peck.

"Speaking of Jerry, I hear he taught you know to text," Traci glanced at him as she smirked at the memory of Andy glued to her phone all of the previous night.

Sam rolled his eyes as he responded, "Yeah, I guess he did. We spent a good hour the other night at the Penny going over all the little acronyms."

Traci laughed, knowing full well of her boyfriend's love of acronyms, "A little 'LOL' and a couple of 'OMG's?"

"Yes, and maybe a hundred others that I'll never remember what they mean. At least now I have some idea what my nieces are saying when they text me," Sam kept his eyes on the road as Traci looked over.

"You have nieces?" She really didn't know anything about Swarek's personal life and she was surprised by him bringing up his family voluntarily.

"Yeah, four. The oldest is sixteen, hence the texting, and the youngest just turned eight yesterday. I took the day off so I could go to her birthday party." His eyes remained on the road but she could see his face soften as he spoke about his nieces.

"That sounds nice," Traci turned to look out the window and thought about her own son.

"You hungry?" Sam changed the subject as he could see one of his favorite sandwich places up the road and was beginning to feel his appetite growing.

"Starved, actually. I haven't had anything to eat since cake for breakfast this morning." Traci laughed at herself for how juvenile that sounded.

Sam raised an eyebrow at her but before he could make a remark the radio cracked to life.

_1505 requested back at the barn_

Traci looked over at Sam as he shrugged his shoulders and made an illegal u-turn to head back to the barn.

"You know, the police could have given you a ticket for that," Traci laughed at her own joke and Sam just shook his head.

"Funny."

0o0

Andy had almost made it to the locker room where she was planning to hide out for the next hour when she felt someone grab her arm and pull her against the wall.

"Andy, can we talk?" Andy could hear the desperation in Luke's voice but it was nothing compared to the anger in hers.

"Don't you think I would have picked up one of your fifty phone calls if I wanted to talk to you?" Andy's tone was harsh, but not harsh enough to truly convey how little she wanted to be anywhere near him.

She took a step backwards, but to little avail as Luke just moved a step closer. "Andy, please. I can't sleep, I can't eat, I can't function."

"Really Luke? What would possibly make you think that I care?" Her eyes were still fixed on his, her stare colder than he thought she was capable of.

He didn't have an answer to her question and he hung his head before responding, "I am so sorry, Andy. It was a mistake; I don't want her, I want you. I love you. I want to marry you." His words and his eyes were both pleading with her and she had to look away for a second.

"If any of that was true, you wouldn't have slept with her." Her tone was final and with that she turned and walked into the locker room.

0o0

"Well, that's a lovers quarrel if I've ever seen one." His voice had an edge to it that was not missed by Traci. They had just made it into the barn on time for Sam to be whisked away by Boyd into Best's office. Traci had been eating lunch that she had stolen from Jerry at her desk, waiting for Sam to be done his meeting, when she saw Andy walk briskly by her. She called out her name but she had a mouthful of falafel so she hadn't heard her. She was about to follow her into the locker room when she saw Luke grab her and pull her into a corner. Right at that moment, Sam had come up to the desk beside her. He had followed her gaze until he too was watching their interaction.

She scoffed at the use of the word 'lover'. _Not so much_, she thought to herself.

"What?" Sam looked over at her, confusion written all over his face.

"Nothing," Traci chastised herself for her reaction to his comment. It really wasn't her place to tell Sam about the break-up but she also couldn't lie to him. She resorted to just praying he wouldn't ask her directly.

"Did something happen between them?" _Shit_.

She opted for the simplest answer, "yes." She took another bite of her falafel and pretended to focus on the paperwork in front of her.

Sam waited for her to continue but after realizing she wasn't planning on it, he pressed it further. "Well, what happened?"

His eyes were big with concern and Traci couldn't help but melt a little. To everyone except Andy, it was obvious Swarek cared about her more than the typical partner would. And the more time she was spending with him, the more she was convinced he's in love with her.

Before she could answer, she got distracted by Jo storming by the desk and practically knocking over a stack of files. She got Sam's attention too and they both watched as she paused when she saw Luke. They stared at each other from across the room and Traci noticed the tears welling in Jo's eyes and the guilt in Luke's. She glanced at Sam, praying it wasn't obvious to someone who didn't already know. But when she saw the look on his face, she knew that it was.

"No." He wasn't looking at her as he spoke; his eyes were fixed on Luke.

"Tell me he didn't." This time his tone was cold and he was looking her straight in the eye. She could see the pain on his face and it broke her heart. She didn't know how to respond and with each passing second his face fell a little more.

"Traci." The way he said her name made her feel like a witness in interrogation and it made her squirm a little.

She just nodded and Sam put his head in his hands. He stayed like that for a few moments before he raised his head and Traci saw anger cursing through his enlarged veins.

"That fucking idiot." He stood to get up and was just walking away as Oliver walked up to them and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Sammy, baby," Oliver grinned at his friend before acknowledging the other person present, "And Nash, always a pleasure to see you."

When Sam ignored him and kept walking in the direction of the D's office, he looked to Traci who just shook her head as she placed her face in her hands.

Oliver looked extremely confused as he glanced between Traci and Sam, "what's going on?"

Without looking back Sam mumbled, "I have to settle something with Callaghan."


	4. Chapter Four

**Notes: **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story so far! I really love hearing your thoughts. So I'm a little nervous about this chapter. There is a conversation between Sam and Andy, but it's not 'the talk'. I'm really trying to keep them in character and I hope that you like where I went with this one. I'm really curious as to what you think so please let me know!

I don't own anything.

* * *

><p>"Callaghan."<p>

Luke Callaghan was standing slouched over his desk when Sam opened the door into the D's office. Luke recognized the voice and sighed.

"Swarek." He responded without looking up, hoping that he would just leave. However, the sound of heavy footsteps told him he wasn't so lucky.

"Is there something I can help you with?" He straightened up and was turning to face one of his least favorite people when he felt a blow to his right cheek. In part due to the shock of the hit but mostly due to its force, Luke stumbled backwards, "What the fuck?"

Sam stared at him, his face blank, for a moment before he grinned, "You take care," He paused and winked, "Buddy."

Before Luke could respond Sam was already out the door.

0o0

Traci and Oliver heard the sound of fist hitting bone and Oliver turned to Traci, "Seriously, what is going on?"

Just as Traci opened her mouth to answer she saw Sam walk through the station and into the women's locker room.

"And what is it with Sammy and that damn locker room?" Oliver had also been following Sam's movements and only looked more confused when he turned back to Traci.

Traci considered her options and couldn't even begin to think of how to explain what just happened so she opted to shrug her shoulders and play dumb.

"I have no idea." Traci shrugged again and judging by the look Oliver was giving her, he wasn't buying it. Before he could say anything else she walked away, heading to the cruiser to wait for Sam.

Oliver watched as she walked away and looked around the room to see if anyone else was lost as he was. He was disappointed to find that everyone else seemed to either have not noticed or not cared.

"Does anybody know what the hell is going on?" He groaned when everyone either ignored him or just shrugged and went back to work.

0o0

Andy was just standing to head back to the cruiser when Sam burst through the door of the locker room. He scanned the room and when his eyes found hers, he froze and Andy was paralyzed by the intensity in his eyes. She watched as he opened his mouth only to close it a second later. He tried again, this time taking a step closer, but failed once more. This continued for minutes that felt like hours, during which his eyes never left hers.

That is until Sam started laughing. It was the saddest laugh Andy had ever heard and it made her cringe. She watched as he pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to regain some control of his emotions. He was fidgeting, looking anywhere but at her. She stood by her locker, in the same position she had been in when he first walked in, still unable to move.

Finally, he spoke. "I… I'm so sorry." He was staring at his feet when the words left his mouth and his hands were on his hips. He exhaled sharply and a bitter laugh escaped his lips.

Andy couldn't imagine what he could possibly be apologizing for and opened her mouth to speak only to find she couldn't, even if she knew what to say.

The room was silent, save Sam's occasional cough of humorless laughter. Andy was completely still, staring at him. "I… am so sorry," He paused again, "He wasn't supposed to…he was supposed to be solid… to never hurt you."

Andy's mouth opened in shock. _He knew_. "Who told you?" She meant to speak but was disappointed when she heard no sound leave her mouth.

Sam ignored her unspoken question. "I never would have... I didn't know…" He exhaled again before whispering, "I am so sorry Andy"

His eyes shot up to hers and upon searching them she found only guilt and anger. She still couldn't move or speak. She couldn't even imagine what her face looked like at that moment but she was pretty sure she was crying.

After a minute or two of silence, he turned to walk out of the room but hesitated at the door before turning and mumbling, "I'm just… really sorry."

Andy stood and watched as he walked out. Her mind was running rampant and she couldn't grasp a single coherent thought. She had no idea how he found out and she was even more confused by his apologies. She tried to process what had just happened but she quickly realized she had no idea where to even begin. She was pulled out of the trance by the sound of her phone ringing and she remembered she still had half a shift to finish. Groaning, she wiped the tears off her face as she walked out of the locker room and picked up the phone to a very confused Oliver Shaw.

0o0

The rest of the shift was a blur for Andy and it wasn't long before she found herself in the locker room again. She hadn't seen Sam or Luke again that day and she wasn't sure she would have been able to deal with it if she had. She could feel Traci watching her as she changed out of her uniform and back into the sweatpants and t-shirt she had worn to work that morning. Neither of them said a word until they were back in Traci's apartment.

"I'll heat up the rest of the Chinese food from yesterday for dinner." Traci was already digging out the dishes from the fridge as she spoke.

Andy didn't respond as she moved into the living room and sunk onto the couch. As she looked back on the past four hours, she realized she hadn't said more than ten words. Oliver had asked her what was wrong a handful of times but she always answered 'nothing' and eventually he stopped asking. There weren't any calls so they ended up just driving around until it was time to head back to the barn.

She watched Traci set the table as the events of the last day played in her mind. Seeing Luke had been just as hard as she thought it would be but she was thankful that she hadn't run into Jo as she wasn't sure she would have been able to resist the urge to physically harm her. At the time she didn't think her day could possibly get any worse but she was quickly proven wrong. Sam had literally paralyzed her with his stare, which held so much more than Andy was willing to see, while his apologies crippled her mental functions. Five hours had passed and she still hadn't recuperated.

She heard Traci's voice from the kitchen but was too distracted to hear what she said. Assuming she said dinner was ready, Andy got up and moved into the dining area of the kitchen and took a seat at the table.

Traci sat after she placed the rest of the food on the table and contemplated how to bring up what had happened at the barn today. Her mind combed over all the different ways she could lead into the conversation but none of the options seemed fitting. Traci was about to ask if the food was warm enough when she heard Andy's phone ring. Andy didn't seem to notice so Traci tapped her on the arm and pointed to her phone on the kitchen counter. Nodding her head in acknowledgement, Andy walked over to the counter and opened her phone.

"Hello?" Her voice was barely audible as she spoke into the phone.

"McNally? It's Sergeant Best." She straightened her posture at the sound of her boss's voice and Traci arched her eyebrow, as if asking who it was.

"Oh. Hi sergeant." Traci 'ah'-ed and turned back towards her plate.

"Listen, I want to talk to you about today. We can't have that happening again. I don't need to know what happened. Actually, I would prefer not to but I cannot have my officers and detectives resorting to physical violence while on the job…"

Andy cut him off, "Sorry? I don't know what you're referring to." Traci glanced over and saw the confusion on her friends face.

"I am referring to Officer Swarek striking Detective Callaghan."

"Sam hit Luke?" Andy's mouth dropped open and Traci sighed, partially relieved that she didn't have to be the one to tell her.

"Yes, he did." Andy heard her sergeant sigh before he continued, "Callaghan is not pressing charges and we all agreed it's best to just move on but I need to know that whatever is going on will not be brought onto the job with you. If you don't think you can leave it at home, I want you to take a few personal days."

Andy was silent for a few moments as she digested what Best was telling her before she responded, "I can leave it at home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Definitely. It won't be an issue." She was surprised at how convincing she sounded.

"Okay. I trust you McNally. And sorry for disrupting your night."

"It's not a problem. Thank you sergeant." And with that she heard the phone click, signaling the end of the conversation. Andy shut her phone and placed it back on the counter before taking her seat at the table.

However, when she sat down she didn't touch her food. "Sam hit Luke?" She was staring at Traci as she spoke, her expression a combination of more emotions than Traci could even name.

"Yeah, he did." Traci sighed as the words left her mouth.

"When?" Andy was completely still except the small movements of her mouth.

"At the barn, during lunch break." Traci spoke softly and slowly, knowing her friend needed the extra time to process what happened.

"Why?" Andy knew the answer before she asked the question but she needed to hear someone else say it. She was having a hard time believing her life had come to this point and was hoping that hearing it from someone else would make it feel real.

"He knows what happened," She searched Andy's face waiting for a reaction, expecting anger but finding nothing, "I didn't tell him, he saw you and Luke arguing and then saw Jo look like she was going to cry and Luke like he had just killed a puppy. And then he just knew. I'm sorry, maybe I should have just denied it but I didn't."

Andy was silent and there was still no change on her face. The girls sat at the table, neither one touching their food, as Andy slowly digested the story.

Finally, Andy spoke. "He apologized."

"Luke?" Traci wasn't sure why Andy was telling her that, she already knew Luke had been apologizing constantly since Andy found out.

"No, Sam."

Traci arched her eyebrow as she asked, "For hitting Luke?"

"No. I don't really know why. He was saying something about Luke and... I really don't know." The words left Andy's mouth but her tone suggested that she didn't really understand their meaning.

"I don't understand, what does that have to do with him?"

Andy sighed as she folded her arms on the table and leaned forward. "I don't know Trace! I don't know anything anymore! This isn't supposed to be my life! Luke was the safe choice! It was supposed to be easy and pleasant but this is neither!"

"It's never easy Andy." Traci reached across the table to grab one of her friend's hands.

Andy looked up at the contact and groaned, "I know that Trace. But it's not supposed to be this hard. Why did he sleep with her? I really just don't understand." The tears were flowing freely as she shook her head in disbelieve.

"I don't know Andy."

"God it just hurts so much Trace." Andy dropped her head into her hands and sobbed, "Every time I think it's getting better, I fall two steps backwards!"

"It's only been two days. You have to give yourself more time to feel the pain of the situation."

"I am just so sick of feeling this bad. Can we please just get drunk?" Traci laughed even though she knew Andy was completely serious.

"Sure but you have the night shift tomorrow, remember?"

"I know. Do you not?"

"No, I booked it off. Leo is getting back from his weekend with his dad tomorrow and I want to spend some time with him. I think we're going to have a zoo day." Traci smiled and the excitement in her voice was almost enough to make Andy smile.

"Oh. Should I move over to my dad's tomorrow?" Andy tried to keep a level tone as she spoke but she knew some disappointment had seeped through.

"No! Don't be ridiculous. Leo loves you, he'll be so happy that you're staying with us!"

"Okay, only if you're sure though." Andy tried to smile but instead ended up awkwardly tilting her mouth into a sort of grimace.

"Andy." Traci arched her eyebrow as if challenging Andy to defy her.

Andy gave in and nodded before smirking, "So, alcohol?" At this, Andy managed to form a legitimate smile.

Traci laughed as she got up to find her liquor. "Okay, so we've got wine, tequila, a little bit of vodka, and some gin. I'm feeling the wine, good with you?"

"Yeah, sure."

"White or red?" Traci had already grabbed the bottle of white wine as she asked the question, knowing full well what her friend's answer would be.

"White, please." Andy's response was muffled by the sweatpants covering the knees her head was currently resting on.

"Coming right up!"

0o0

An hour later the girls were on the couch, each with their third full glass of wine in hand. They had been talking about their academy days and their fellow rookies as the wine flowed, and Andy was beginning to loosen up. Traci hesitated before approaching the topic of Sam but she was really feeling the wine so she just went for it, "So, what exactly did Sam say in the locker room today?"

Andy took another long swig from her wine before shaking her head, "I don't know. Something about being sorry for Luke being a dick, I think."

"Why would he apologize for that?" Traci didn't want to push her friend but after getting to know Swarek better she knew he wasn't really the apology type.

"Why are we talking about this?" Traci could hear the irritation growing in her friend's voice. She knew she should stop but the alcohol had taken over and she kept going.

"Aren't you curious?"

Andy heard the question but honestly didn't know the answer. She hadn't thought about the interaction she had with Sam that day since it happened, and even when it was happening she wasn't really thinking at all. Every time her mind slipped to the three minutes she was in the locker room with him, everything went blank. She looked up at Traci and seeing the anticipation for her answer on her face made her frustration fade into anger.

"Why are we talking about Sam? None of this even matters! Sam and I made out, once! I was going to marry Luke, Trace. I agreed to spend the rest of my life with Luke. Up until two days ago, when I pictured my future, it was with Luke. Why do you think I'm thinking about Sam right now? I don't know why he was apologizing and honestly, I don't really care."

"Andy…"

She finished off the rest of her third glass before opening her mouth to speak, "No, I'm done talking. I'm going to bed, goodnight."

Traci was going to protest but she knew she had already pushed her friend too far. She watched her walk away as she took another sip of wine. She knew Andy was a mess and she felt guilty for making her snap but she really did have the best intentions in mind. She knew that Andy did genuinely love Luke but she also knew there was a lot more to the story with Sam than she was letting on.

0o0

As Andy got into bed, she knew she had lied to Traci. The brief interaction she had with Sam in the locker room that day affected her more than she was even capable of comprehending in her emotional state. She knew the feelings were stored away somewhere and eventually they would reappear but she had much more prominent issues to deal with first. She had lied when she told Traci she wasn't thinking about Sam, but it wasn't entirely untrue. Luke occupied her thoughts a good majority of the time, the knife through her chest was a constant reminder of his betrayal. When she had woken up that morning, she knew the day would be hard and long. It took everything she had to keep her shit together and when her head hit the pillow, she broke down. She sobbed until she couldn't, only then falling asleep.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes:** Sorry for the delay with getting this chapter up! I lost most of my motivation after I posted the last chapter and I forgot where I wanted to go with the story. But I figured it out and here it is. I hope you like it, I know people didn't love the last one but I hope this one is better. Thanks again for the reviews, I can't tell you how much I love reading them. Just a warning, there are probably more mistakes in this one than the last few chapters. I've read it too many times and if I don't post it now I probably never will. Please tell me what you think!

I don't own anything.

* * *

><p>After a long month of extreme fluctuations, Andy finally felt like her emotions were starting to even out. She was still living with Traci but had started looking for her own apartment. Leo was a great distraction, and between him and long shifts Andy barely found any time to dwell. Running into Luke at the barn was gradually getting less uncomfortable and he had stopped trying to push her into getting back together. Sam had been eerily nice to her at first and they both tried to pretend nothing had changed but they both knew something in their friendship had cracked in that locker room.<p>

At the beginning of the week Gail had suggested that they have a girls night on Friday, as Chris and Dov were going to a hockey game and she would have the apartment to herself. Andy had been avoiding alcohol since the night she freaked out at Traci but after hearing convincing arguments from both Gail and Traci, she agreed reluctantly. The week had gone by fast and before long the three girls were sitting in the living room of Chris and Dov's apartment sipping margaritas.

"So, Traci." Gail turned her big, curious eyes to Traci, "How is Jerry?"

Traci laughed at the expression on her face before taking a sip of her drink, "He's good… really good, actually."

"Yeah, I bet." Gail wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she poured herself another margarita.

"How many of those have you had? It's only eleven!" Traci shook her head and Andy laughed.

"What? It's girls night…" Gail shrugged her shoulders and started on her third margarita.

"That it is!" Andy realized she was starting to feel the tequila herself when she heard the pitch the words left her mouth at. Gail grinned at her and raised her glass. Andy happily obliged and raised her own glass. They laughed as the glasses clinked and half of the contents spilled onto the floor.

"You guys are drunk." Traci smirked at her friends before moving into the kitchen to find a paper towel. Andy and Gail kept laughing, not bothering to try and deny it. They could hear Traci opening and closing drawers and Gail giggled, knowing she wasn't going to find any cleaning supplies.

"So I saw Best and Williams out last night." Gail was still giggling as she spoke.

"What do you mean 'out'?" Andy wasn't really following; the tequila was making everything a little more confusing.

"Like out! Like a date! Geez, Andy. Slow much?" Gail was still giggling and Andy's mouth dropped.

"No way! Trace!" Andy turned her head towards the kitchen and yelled again, "Trace!"

Not five seconds later, Traci appeared in the doorway, "What?"

"Best and Williams are together!" Andy's eyes were still wide and Traci laughed.

"Yeah, I know." Traci watched as Andy's eyes widened to comical widths.

"How did you know?" Gail narrowed her eyes, her tone not hiding her annoyance.

"Noelle and I talk sometimes…" Traci turned back into the kitchen, not offering any further information.

"Hm, who knew," Gail shrugged her shoulders and Andy still had surprise written all over her face. "Oh common Andy, it's not that shocking."

Andy had forgotten what they were even talking about and laughed as she took another sip of her drink. Gail continued to share the various gossip she'd heard about the station and Andy soaked it all up. Traci eventually gave up her search for paper towel and rejoined them in the living room. The girls spent another hour making fun of Dov and his shenanigans before Gail brought up the one thing Andy didn't want to talk about.

"You know who would be really good in bed?" Gail grinned mischievously.

"Your boyfriend?" Traci arched her eyebrow at Gail for the twentieth time that night and Gail ignored her.

"Sam Swarek." Gail licked her lips dramatically and Traci looked at Andy before laughing, she looked like she wanted to hit Gail in the face.

"Have you seen that bulge?" Traci couldn't believe Gail was really going there, especially in front of Andy, "It's really distracting!"

"No, I can't say that I have." Traci was mostly telling the truth, but there was one time that her eyes had drifted a little too low when she was talking to her boyfriend's best friend.

"Andy, you for sure have." Gail turned to Andy and laughed when she saw the look on her face, "Oh my god, Andy."

Andy didn't laugh and Gail kept talking, "What's been going on with you guys lately anyways? Being in a room with you two is more awkward than the time Dov accidently invited both his parents to visit on the same day."

"Gail…" Traci gave Gail a warning look but she just shrugged in response.

"What? You guys never tell me anything, I always have to hear shit from Dov." She glanced expectantly at Andy.

Andy looked at Gail and shrugged as she poured herself another drink, which she quickly chugged.

"Oh common! Please give me more than that. Chris is amazing but monogamy is so boring." Traci rolled her eyes at Gail.

"Seriously, nothing happened." Andy shrugged again and avoided looking at either of her friends by playing with the drawstrings on her sweatpants.

"You can't be serious!" Gail looked from Traci to Andy, waiting for one of them to give her an honest answer. When neither of them gave in, she groaned. "So you're telling me that Sam punched Luke in the face and then stormed into the women's locker room… and nothing happened?"

"Pretty much." Andy pulled the drawstring a little too hard and groaned when she pulled it entirely out of her pants.

"You mean he didn't finally confess his undying love for you? Well that's disappointing."

Andy coughed in surprise at the blonde woman she considered a friend the majority of the time. "Where do you get this from?"

"Oh please. Every one knows Swarek has it bad for you. Have you seen the way he looks at you? Tell her Traci." Both Gail and Andy turned to Traci to find her shrugging as a refusal to participate in the conversation.

"Besides, that's the only reason why anyone would ever turn me down." Gail reached for another margarita as Andy spat hers out.

"What?" It was Traci who spoke, as Andy was too shocked to form words.

"What? We made out once, only got to second base before he shut me down. At first I thought he was gay or something but then I noticed the way he looks at Andy. He's so in love with her, it would be pathetic if it wasn't so adorable."

"First of all, when did this happen? And secondly, second base? How old are you?" Traci stared at Gail as she tried to piece together the information she had just heard when the sound of Andy's voice broke her train of thought.

"You hooked up with Sam?" Her voice broke halfway through the sentence and the rest came out as a whisper.

Gail was about to respond when the look on her friends face silenced her. Traci and Gail watched as Andy processed and each consecutive feeling passed through her face. At first Andy was angry. She wasn't sure why or even who at, as the anger bounced from Gail to Sam and finally landed on herself. For the past year she had been so focused on her own romantic problems that she had never considered that Sam would be with another woman, least of all Gail. The thought made her nauseous and the tequila in her system didn't help. The anger faded into sadness, which quickly became anxiety. The anxiety grew as the silence deepened and Andy couldn't be in that living room anymore.

Remembering Traci mentioning something about Jerry being at poker night tonight, she looked at her with pleading eyes, "Where's poker night tonight?"

Traci was caught off guard by the question and stumbled on her words, "At Jerry's, why?"

Andy stood up and was almost at the door when she realized she had no idea where Jerry lived, "Where is that exactly?"

Traci gave her directions as Gail demanded to know what was going on. Andy nodded when Traci finished, ignoring Gail, and was out the door.

0o0

Andy ran through the streets of Toronto, vaguely aware of the street signs. She had no idea what she was going to say when she finally got there but she knew she just had to see him. She wasn't sure how long it took her but she found herself standing on the steps of Jerry's house, sweat dripping down her face. She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her head as she rung the doorbell. Less than a minute later, Jerry pulled the door open.

"McNally?" Jerry gave her quick up down and arched an eyebrow.

Andy ignored him as she moved into the house to follow the sound of the deep laughter. She turned into the dining room and found what she was looking for.

"Sam. I need to talk to you." Andy was out of breath and the words had come out in a jumble.

Sam looked up and was shocked to see his former rookie standing in the doorway of Jerry's dining room. "McNally?"

"Please Sam." She heard how pathetic her voice sounded and she blushed. Jerry had reentered the room and took his seat next to Oliver, who was watching the interaction in front of him intently.

Sam sighed before standing up, "Okay." He turned to his friends before placing his cards on the table and following Andy out the door, "I guess I'm folding this round."

When they made it outside, Andy stood there staring at him, trying to remember what she wanted to say. There were so many things that she needed to say to him and even more that she needed to ask. He stood a few feet away, waiting for her to say something.

"You hooked up with Gail" The words practically fell out of her mouth and she wasn't sure it was even audible.

"What?" He spoke as he folded his arms and arched an eyebrow.

She repeated herself, this time louder and more definite with anger dripping off every word.

He coughed of laughter and shook his head, "I wouldn't say 'hooked up', but yeah… we kissed. What's your point McNally?"

She half expected him to deny it and for it all to just have been some story Gail made up, just to stir up some trouble, and was more disappointed that she had thought she would be to find it was, indeed, true. "And you never thought to mention it?"

He laughed again before responding, "Why would I have?"

She scoffed bitterly and retorted, "Why would you make out with her?"

The humor in his eyes faded and his tone was heavily drenched in annoyance, "I'm sorry but how is this any of your business?"

She shrugged, knowing it wasn't really.

"Where is this coming from?" His arms were still folding but his head was bobbing as he spoke, which Andy had long ago noted that it always does when he's grumpy and annoyed.

"So when you said I'm not your type, you meant Gail is?" Gail's name had never been uttered in a less flattering way and for a moment Andy felt guilty, but the moment quickly passed and she was once again angry.

"When did I say that?" His head bobbed again and Andy would have laughed if she weren't so angry.

"You said it twice actually. Both on the first day we rode together. Remember?" Her eyes widened and she threw her arms up as a sign of her own annoyance.

He blinked slowly before nodding, "Oh, I guess I did say that… but I definitely did not say that Gail is."

"But you do like blondes. Monica is a blonde. And so is Gail."

Andy watched as he tilted his head and blinked again, "Yes, McNally. The majority of my ex-girlfriends are blonde. I still don't know why we're having this conversation."

"We're not." She shrugged.

"What? Are you drunk?"

"No," She laughed as if the idea was absurd, "Are you?"

"Kind of, actually. Which is not making you any easier to understand. And sorry to break it to you McNally, but you are clearly drunk."

Frustration suddenly overcame her and she yelled, "Shut up!"

"Okay, as much fun as this is… why are you here?" His tone was sharp but his eyes were soft, almost worried.

She looked up at him and before she knew it she was in his arms and all the words she wanted to say were lost on his lips. He kissed her back for a moment or two before pushing her off of him.

"What the hell McNally?" His stare was hard and Andy couldn't believe what she had just done. Her flight response kicked in and she turned to walk away only to be stopped by a firm grip on her shoulder.

"What? Is it because I'm not blonde?" She snapped as he pulled her to face him.

"This is a joke, right?"

Andy could feel tears welling up in her eyes and she prayed they wouldn't fall. She knew she was acting crazy and the look on Sam's face told her he did too.

"No, Sam. This is not a joke."

"Okay… so you're mad at me for kissing Gail? …Like six months ago?"

Andy nodded slowly.

"Do you realize how fucked up that is?"

Andy nodded again. Sam stared at her; unable to believe the conversation was actually happening. His disbelief slowly faded into anger and his stare turned cold.

"Did you just come here to yell at me for my preference for blondes? God, even that's hypocritical!" He took a step closer as if he had something else to say but no sound left his mouth.

Andy stared at him and tried to come up with a clever response but came up empty.

"I honestly can't believe this is happening. You have no right to come here and judge me for what, or who, I chose to do."

"Who you chose to do? Real classy, pal."

He rolled his eyes, "Yes, McNally. This may shock you, but I have sex with women."

Andy cringed and put her face in hands in an attempt to hide the pain she felt cursing through her entire body. She heard him sigh loudly and she glanced up at him to find a similar pain on his face.

"Why are you doing this?" The anger formerly on his face had been replaced by confusion and sadness, and it made her anger disappear.

She didn't have an answer for his question, but instead felt it was time to ask him the question she had been avoiding for the last month.

"Sam, why did you apologize to me?"

His eyes met hers and he looked lost, "Why does any of this even matter anymore?" He sounded exasperated as he raised his arms in frustration before pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand.

"Please Sam."

He nodded sadly and sighed. "Listen Andy, I am not this guy." He sighed again and took a deep breath before continuing, "There's a reason I'm almost forty and I've never been married. I'm a cop. It's not just what I do but it is who I am. I spend as much time as I can undercover, and I am damn good at it. I always get the job done, well except for once. I almost had my case when an overeager rookie burned me." His eyes bore into her and the intensity made her blush. He paused and took another deep breath, "And ever since that day, I have not been able to get her out of my head."

Andy inhaled deeply as he confession continued.

"At first, it was because I was imagining all the ways I could get my revenge...I was pretty pissed. And then it was because I wanted to sleep with her." He paused again, this time to smirk, at which she rolled her eyes, "But then it was more than that, because I started to care." He looked away in an attempt to hide the frown forming on his face, "Then the blackout happened and I knew it was so much more than just lust. And to be honest, I thought her knocking on my door meant that she did too…" He looked broken with Andy mustered up the courage to look him in the eye.

She took a step closer but he moved two steps farther away. "But then she went to her boyfriend's fishing cabin… and then I realized that all I wanted was for her to be happy, and this guy made her happy. So, I tried to help whenever she asked for my advice. I tried to refocus, to stop thinking about her and move on. But I couldn't and even worse, I didn't want too." He hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose while he found the courage to continue, "When I said that I have sex with other women, I didn't mean recently. Just so you know, Peck is the only other woman I have touched since you tackled me in that dirty alleyway."

The relief that overcame her surprised her, and she couldn't help but grin. Sam laughed when he saw her and shook his head, "Geez, McNally. Who knew you're the jealous type?"

She laughed nervously; embarrassed that she had allowed herself to look so obviously pleased. She looked away for a moment to regain control of her emotions and realized he hadn't answered her question.

"You still haven't told me why you apologized."

He looked at her and she could see the answer in his eyes. "I apologized because I hate myself for every having told you he's a good guy. I apologized because there was nothing I could do to fix it. But mostly, I apologized because I didn't have the balls to tell you all this back at the beginning. Because when you approached me in that hallway about the blackout, I said 'it was what it was' when what I wanted to say was that it was the best three minutes of my life. I wanted to tell you that kissing you was all I could think about for so long that it felt like a dream to finally have you in my arms. But what I really wanted to tell you was that I'm the guy you should be with. I'm the one that knows what you need. I'm the one that will put you first no matter what, every single day. I'm the one that is so in love with you that you have literally invaded every corner of me. But I didn't say any of that. So I apologized."

Andy heard the words leave his mouth but couldn't form any of her own, as she once again found herself paralyzed by the man standing in front of her. Her arms were wrapped tightly around her body and he was staring right at her, waiting for her to respond to his confession. She could see the fear in his eyes but she could also see the relief as his eyes searched hers. She had no idea what he could see, as she wasn't sure what exactly she was feeling. Contrary to popular belief, she really hadn't known how Sam felt for her. Sure there were times where she thought she saw him stare just a little too long but he's Sam Swarek and she's Andy McNally. He's strong and confident while she's hesitant and overeager. He could have any woman, his big eyes and perfect dimpled smile made sure of it, and she's hardly anything special. Her head is too small and her shoulders too wide, one arm is a little longer than the other and according to a gun-smuggling prostitute lover, she resembles a dog. Sam moved a step closer and reached out to pull her into him when she moved out of his reach.

"Sam." It only came out as a whisper and he had to strain his ears to hear her. She was shaking even though it was a relatively warm night for a Canadian fall and she had three layers on. The weight on his words was hitting her and she started to feel a kind of warmth she had never felt before spread throughout her body. He was also shaking, as he was less prepared for the fall night air in a thin t-shirt and a pair of jeans, and avoiding looking at her. She realized how long it had been since he stopped talking and she never started, only then noticing what he must be thinking her silence meant. He opened his mouth to speak, probably to say it's okay she doesn't feel the same way, that it's not actually that big of a deal and she shouldn't feel bad because he would be okay but he stopped when he saw Andy coming towards him.

The distance between them was almost closed before she realized she had been moving. When they were standing toe-to-toe, Andy reached up with one hand and pulled his face down to hers. Their lips met and for the first time, there was nothing holding Andy back from feeling everything she was so scared to feel the three other times they kissed. She kissed him with everything she had and he kissed her back without any hesitation. His wrapped his arms around her lower back, pulling her into his body as tight as he could while her hands tangled in his hair. The kiss quickly deepened, both so consumed in the feel of the other that when they finally parted, they were both panting and he was smirking at her.

"You gonna run away again?" His forehead was leaning against hers and he brushed her nose with his as he asked the question he meant mostly as a joke.

She smiled and giggled at the sensation of his Eskimo kiss, "Probably not."

He laughed and pulled her into him, "Probably not?"

"Yeah, I mean you're pretty hot and that kiss was okay but..." She feigned nonchalance as she shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh yeah? Well, that's cool because you're not my type anyways… I'm into blondes." He smirked and winked at her, and her mouth dropped slightly as she moved out of his embrace to punch him in the arm.

"That's really not funny!" She squealed as he grabbed her arm and pulled her into him once again.

"It's kind of funny."

"No."

He laughed at the stubborn expression on her face as he bowed his head to kiss her again. The kiss was less desperate than their last and she gasped as his mouth moved down to her neck. He sucked and nipped at the delicate skin and she almost lost all of her conscious thought when an image of him doing the same to Gail flashed through her mind. She put her hands on his chest and gently pushed him away before sputtering, "Gail? Really?"

He laughed as he hung his head before looking back up at her, "McNally, get over it."

Before she could argue he pinned her against the brick wall of Jerry's house and shut her up the best way he knew how.


	6. Chapter Six

**Notes**: Again, thank you so much for the reviews! I really can't even tell you how much I love reading them and I really appreciate the honesty. I got a little stuck on this chapter, as there were a couple different directions I couldn't decide between after the last one. But, late last night this idea popped into my head so I just went with it. I really hope you like it and please let me know what you think!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

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><p>Sam's hand had just managed to get below the third layer covering her upper half when they heard a car honk. He groaned and removed his hand from the soft, warm skin of her lower back as their lips parted and they both looked over to the street. Sam recognized the car and he prayed that the tree on the lawn obstructed them from the driver's view.<p>

"Sam?" Maybe not. He laughed awkwardly and Andy mouthed 'who is that?'. He shook his head and turned to face the car.

"Zoe. Hi." His voice was raspier than usual and Andy chuckled.

"What are you doing outside? Shouldn't you be in there taking all my husband's money?" Her voice was light and sweet and Andy tried to sneakily peer over Sam's shoulder to see who he was talking to.

He smirked as he ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, yeah."

"You know, in ten years when we can't send Jamie to college because Ollie insists on playing poker with you boys every month, I'm going to tell her it's all your fault."

Sam smirked and replied cockily, "Hey, it's not my fault your husband sucks at poker. Maybe you should tighten the leash?"

Andy heard the woman laugh, "You know, that's not a bad idea." Andy tried not to laugh out loud but failed. "Whose that behind you?"

Sam turned and gave Andy a pointed stare before turning back, "Oh, this is McNally. Andy McNally." Andy moved from behind him so she could her and gave her a small wave.

The woman in the car was a petite brunette with a head of dark, messy curls. Her smile was genuine and it, coupled with her head of dark curls, reminded Andy of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. "McNally? Why does that sound familiar?"

Andy shrugged; she was sure Oliver wouldn't bring her up at home other than with a passing mention when she or another one of the rookies did something especially stupid. "I work at 15th with Sam and Oliver."

"Oh! Of course! You know, I never would have guessed that you're a cop. You are very beautiful, Andy. Must make it hard to be in a male dominated profession."

Sam coughed in an attempt to hold back laughter, "You just can't leave the therapist at the office, can you Zoe?"

"Oh shush Sam. I'm sorry for overstepping Andy."

Andy shrugged, "It's not a problem. I get that all the time." She flipped her hair and winked at Sam. He arched an eyebrow and she put all her efforts into maintaining a straight face.

"Oh yeah?" His tone was teasing and she nodded, "I find that hard to believe."

"And why is that?" She turned to face him and folded her arms across her chest.

He shrugged ambiguously, "I mean, you're pretty in most lighting but I definitely wouldn't go as far as 'beautiful'"

Her eyebrows shot up at his words and she gasped, "You're an ass!"

Andy had forgotten there was another person there and was startled to hear her voice, "You really are Sammy!" The two women scowled at him and he shrugged. Andy could hear Zoe sigh before she spoke, "And I wondered why you're single."

Sam turned towards the car and pointed his finger at the drive, "Hey hey, now we're just being mean."

"Just saying, Sammy. You're not getting any younger. You need to stop being so picky, just marry the next one that can stand you for more than one date."

"You know, my friend Oliver did that… but he ended up with a real pain-in-the-ass."

"Oh yeah?" Sam nodded and Andy chuckled quietly at the interaction between her former T.O and his friend's wife. As if on cue, the front door opened and Oliver Shaw stepped out. "Hun, your friend is an ass."

Oliver looked between his wife and his closest friend and nodded, "I know." He paused on the second step to zip up his jacket and winked at his wife.

"So how'd we do tonight?"

"Thanks to McNally here, pretty good." Andy watched as Oliver descended the last few steps and stopped next to Sam to place a hand on his shoulder, "You know Sammy, Jerry really is horrible at poker."

Sam smirked, "I know brother."

"It's kind of like stealing candy from a baby."

"It's a shame he has no self restraint."

"Yeah, a real shame." The two men laughed and Oliver gave his shoulder a squeeze before turning to Andy, "Have a good night you two."

"Goodnight." The word left both Sam and Andy's mouths at the same time and Oliver chuckled as he walked towards his wife's car. Andy blushed and Sam winked at her.

"Goodnight Sam! Andy!" Andy turned to Zoe and waved, "It was so nice to meet you Andy!"

"You too!" She waved again and watched as the car drove away before she turned to Sam. "She's sweet."

He smiled softly, "Yeah, she is."

"You guys seem close."

"Yeah, I've known her for a while. I was actually the one that introduced them."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Well, kind of."

"Do tell."

He laughed, "Okay. Well, we had just started at the academy and a bunch of us went out for drinks at some bar. Ollie saw a girl sitting at the bar and after staring at her for a good hour or two, I told him to go talk to her. But, he was too nervous so I said I would go talk to her for him. See, I had some experience with that kind of thing so it wasn't a big thing for me."

He smirked and she nodded and spoke sarcastically, "Oh yeah, I bet."

"It's the truth McNally. I've got game." He wiggled his eyebrows and reached his arms around her to grope her ass and pull her into him. He nuzzled his nose against hers and his lips were less than half an inch away from hers when she bit her bottom lip in anticipation. His brushed his lips against hers and smirked, "See?"

She swatted his chest and shook her head, "Just finish the story."

He removed his hands from her bottom and laughed as he placed them in the pockets of his jeans. "So I went up to her and gave her some of my smoothest lines. I even pulled out the dimples but she wasn't impressed. She called me out in front of everyone, at which point Ollie stepped in and apologized on my behalf. He then offered to buy her a drink to make up for it. The rest is history."

Andy's eyes softened and she 'aw'-ed, causing Sam to scoff.

"Yeah. Apparently Zoe is into receding hair lines and lame jokes."

She laughed and retorted, "You're just jealous that she turned you down for Shaw."

"That must be it McNally." He shivered from a rush of cold wind and frowned when he checked his watch. "Wow, it's gotten late."

She leaned over to see the time and nodded, "Yeah, it has."

He smiled at her and nodded, "So."

Her eyes met his, "So."

He smirked and she rolled her eyes. She suddenly felt insecure about asking the question she knew had to be asked and hoped he would say it first. After a minute of silent stares passed, she knew he wasn't planning on it. "So… where does this leave us?"

She had been expected him to laugh and make some lame retort and was surprised when he didn't, and instead gave her a thoughtful stare. "You tell me."

Her eyes dropped to examine her shoes and silence filled the air between them. After a few minutes she heard him sigh, "Listen Andy, there's no rush. You just went through a pretty horrible breakup." She laughed bitterly at the understatement and glanced up to find no humor in his eyes, "I'm here for you; anytime, anywhere. But it's up to you. I don't expect you to know anything right now. I sprung a lot on you tonight, and that probably wasn't fair and I wasn't planning on doing it that way but it's done now. So take your time." He placed a gently kiss on her forehead and she leaned into his shoulder.

"Can I walk you home?" His voice was soft when he spoke and it somewhat soothed her rapidly beating heart. She shook her head and they argued for a couple of minutes before he made her promise to call a cab.

He turned to walk back into Jerry's house and she instantly missed the warmth of his body. He had almost made it up the stairs when he heard her call out his name. He turned to find her on the step below and she leaned forward on her toes to place a soft kiss on his lips. "Goodnight, Sam."

He smiled and brushed a stray hair behind her ear, "Goodnight, Andy."

0o0

As Andy walked through the streets of Toronto, she watched as drunken college students stumbled out of clubs and she smiled at their carefree spirit. It had been thirteen days since she had cried and she had almost forgotten the sensation when she felt a tear fall down her face. In the weeks following her breakup with Luke she had cried everyday. The tears then were cold reminders of his betrayal and felt nothing like the ones currently escaping her eyes. Sam's words played on a loop in her head and it was making her dizzy. The edge of the tequila had faded and what had seemed so simple while she was in his arms now felt complicated and confusing. As had been she turning off Jerry's block, she had texted Traci that she would meet her at her apartment. The idea of having to see Gail again that night was not very appealing and having to explain what had happened between her and Sam to her and Traci was even less so. She was now on a busy bar street and receiving many judgmental looks, which was understandable as she was sure her eyeliner was halfway down her face and she was wearing sweatpants and her father's worn police academy sweater.

She felt happy but it went so much deeper than that. Sam had said everything she had ever wanted to hear a man say to her, let alone him. His kisses made every nerve ending in her body tingle and she had felt more at home in his embrace than she ever had in her life. But that scared her, more than having a gun in her face or being trapped in a falling apart Laundromat. Her tears were warm on her hand when she wiped them away with the sleeve of her sweater. She could still taste him on her lips and it made her think that this time last month, she was planning on only tasting one man for the rest of her life, a man that is not Sam Swarek. She wrapped her arms around herself and his scent surrounded her. Sam was whisky and Old Spice where Luke was peppermint and cologne. Sam's kisses lingered while Luke's were to the point. The comparisons were never ending and tears continued to fall as her emotions overwhelmed her entire nervous system. She had been walking through a small park in a neighborhood she recognized when she found a bench and took a seat.

She had left Jerry's house feeling happier than she could ever remember feeling. The feeling had lasted four blocks, at which point she had begun to feel overwhelmed. The bench was cold, cold enough to feel wet on her legs. She was alone in the park and the cop in her knew it wasn't the safest place to be at one in the morning. She watched as a squirrel ran up a tree a few meters from the bench and took out her phone. She hesitated before dialing the number; it was late and she didn't want to bother him but she also knew it was a conversation that needed to happen. The phone call had lasted less than thirty seconds and he agreed to come to the park.

Andy couldn't keep still; her legs had been bouncing up and down since she hung up. She kept her eyes trained on the direction she knew he would be coming from and her stomach dropped when she saw his approaching figure. A few minutes later, he was sitting beside her on the bench.

"Hey." Luke's voice was quiet and he sounded like he was still partially asleep.

"Hey. Thanks for coming." She glanced at him and smiled meekly.

He returned the smile, "No problem. I was awake anyways." Andy laughed softly at his obvious lie and appreciated the attempt. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Luke coughed lightly, "So, how are you?"

It was a simple question that she had been asked thousands of times throughout her life, but she didn't have an answer for him. On one hand, she was the happiest she had ever been but on another, she couldn't let go of the failure of her relationship with the man sitting next to her. Sam's confession had brought up the feelings she had stored away long ago and it made her question her entire with relationship with Luke. After the blackout, Andy had convinced herself that whatever she felt between her and Sam was in her head but tonight was proof that it was not; it was real and he felt it too.

"Andy?" His voice broke her train of thought and she turned to look at him. She studied his face and found that his eyes were full of concern and guilt and his cheeks were flushed from the cool night air. A month ago she had expected to hate him for the rest of her life, but as she stared at him she didn't feel any hate. She felt sadness and regret. The regret didn't surprise her but its directionality did; she wasn't sure if it was for the relationship ending or it beginning.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm…" The words she could use to answer flashed through her mind but nothing seemed to fit. She could feel his eyes on her and when her eyes met his, she knew why she called him, "Why?"

He maintained their eye contact as confusion flashed across his face, but it only lasted a moment before he knew what she was referring to. His eyes softened and he ran a hand through his hair. "I've been asking myself that everyday for the last month."

She picked at her nail beds to avoid meeting his gaze and sputtered, "Do you love her?"

He sighed and there was another pause of silence between them before he answered her question. "A part of me always will for what we had. But it's different than it was before." He glanced at his former fiancé before continuing and the look in her eye convinced him to be honest, "She broke my heart. Three years ago, I turned down a promotion and asked her to marry me. She said no and took the promotion."

Andy watched as his face fell and she remembered something Sam had told her when she had first started seeing Luke. "So you dated a different rookie every year to get over her?"

He narrowed his eyes before he hung his head, "Yeah." He brought his hands up to cover his face and she heard his breathing deepen. She stared at his defeated form and the pain of his admission weighed on her. At the time she had thought that Sam was just saying shit to be an ass but now she knew it was true and their relationship made a little less sense. Tears began to fall for the umpteenth time that hour and they sat in silence as she cried silently and he breathed deeply. She could hear him sigh and she looked over as he removed his face from his hands and looked her in the eye, "You were never just a rookie to me Andy."

She wiped the tears from her face as she saw one fall down his. "Andy I'm serious."

"I believe you." She whispered and smiled. She placed her hand over his as they both cried quietly. "Do you think we would have made it? I mean if you never…"

He winced at the reference and was grateful when she didn't finish the sentence. "I don't know."

He squeezed her hand and they both turned to face each other, "All I know is that I really wanted us to."

She nodded, "Me too." He removed his hand from hers to place it around her shoulders and pull her into him. The silence was companionable as she leaned against his solid frame and they mourned their relationship. She cried for another handful of minutes before her eyes were dry and she didn't feel sad anymore. When she had called Luke, she was in an emotional stalemate. But their conversation had allowed her to let go of the pain and for the first time since the breakup, Andy could think about her future and not be sad that it no longer included Luke Callaghan. In fact, as she sat on that bench in his arms, she was excited about her future and the role her former training officer would play in it.


	7. Chapter Seven

Notes: I am so sorry for how long it took me to upload this! I know most of you probably don't even remember the story but I hope some of you do! I actually had it almost finished a while ago but then life got busy. Anyways, sorry again and thank you to everyone who reviewed! It seriously makes my day whenever I read them. I appreciate all your comments more than you know. I hope you like this one :) Oh and I apologize in advance for the multiple spelling and gramatical errors in this chapter. I kind of finished it in a rush, I was afraid if I didn't post it tonight, I never would.

I don't own Rookie Blue.

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><p>Andy awoke the next morning to the sound of pots and pans banging in the kitchen, and groaned when she noticed the time on the clock. It was eight, which meant that she had gotten only five hours of sleep. While people like Traci only needed four or five hours to be functional, Andy needed at least eight. She lay in bed for another five minutes before rolling out and stumbling into the kitchen.<p>

"Good morning sunshine!" Traci said while laughing at her friend's appearance.

Andy just grumbled in response as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Long night?"

Andy took a sip of her coffee and nodded, "You could say that."

"When did you get home?"

"I think around two-thirty."

Traci shook her head, "You know, we're not twenty-one anymore."

Andy laughed bitterly, "Oh I know." She paused and narrowed her eyes, "Wait, why aren't you hung-over?"

Traci turned to face her and smiled, "Because, unlike you and Gail, I know my limits."

"Whatever you say." Andy only then noticed her friend was cooking something and leaned over her shoulder to see what it was, "Pancakes?"

Traci turned back to the stove and nodded, "I figured you'd probably feel like shit."

"You are the best friend ever." Traci laughed as she flipped the first pancake. Andy took her coffee and moved to the dining area of the kitchen, grabbing the newspaper on the way. After flipping to the classified she proudly announced, "Today is the day I find my own place."

Traci dropped her spatula and turned to her friend, "Already?"

"Trace, it's been a month."

"I know, but… it's been so much fun."

"I know. But you and Leo need your space and I finally feel like I have my shit together enough to live on my own again."

Traci smiled sadly and nodded; part of her wanted to argue but she knew Andy was right. The next ten minutes were spent with Andy listing off the apartments ads and Traci helping her decide on a few that they would look at as she finished up with the pancakes. By the time the pancakes were on plates in front of them, they had seven apartments lined up for the day. Andy was just finishing her third pancake when she heard Traci start chuckling. When she glanced over she saw that Traci was staring at her neck. "Nice hickey, Andy."

Andy blushed as a hand flew to her neck, "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously."

Andy's eyes widened and she jogged to the bathroom to see for herself, "Shit." She could hear Traci laughing in the kitchen as she examined the fresh hickey on her neck. Groaning, she pulled out a few aspirins from the medicine cabinet to keep the headache she felt coming away. After swallowing the pills, she walked slowly back to her seat at the table.

"So," Traci watched as her friend dropped into her seat and waited until their eyes met to ask, "You going to tell me what happened last night now?"

Andy laughed, "How much time do you have?"

"Well, the first apartment showing is at noon. So you have two and a half hours."

"Perfect." Andy sat up straight and folded her arms on the table as she began to tell her story. Andy told her about her confrontation with Sam about Gail, his confession, their steamy make-out session, meeting Shaw's wife, and her conversation with Luke on the park bench. Traci had remained almost completely still for the entire two hours the story took, with her only movements being to widen her eyes or raise her eyebrows.

"Jesus, Andy." She paused and shook her head. "I don't even know what to say."

"Tell me about it."

"Never would have guessed that Swarek's in love with you…"

"Oh shut up. You know what, if it was so obvious then why did no one say anything to me? Why didn't you say anything to me?"

"Oh sure… 'Hey Andy, I know you're engaged and everything but I'm pretty sure Sam Swarek wants you to have his babies'. Huh, that doesn't sound nearly as weird as I thought it would…"

"Really Trace? That's how you would word it?" said Andy as she rolled her eyes at the heavy sarcasm.

"Maybe," She took a sip of her coffee before saying, "But honestly Andy, would you have believed me if I had said something to you?"

Andy was silent for a moment or two before shaking her head, "Probably not."

Traci smiled, "You're so oblivious sometimes."

"That may be true, but I don't think it applies in this case. I mean he's _Sam Swarek,_ Trace."

"And?"

"Don't even pretend you don't know what I'm talking about it."

"Let's just say that I don't, explain it to me."

"Fine. First of all, he is hot. Super hot. Then there's the fact that he was, oh I don't know, my training officer."

"Oh please. The blackout?" Andy just blushed in response, "But please, continue."

"Thanks. And he has pretty much mastered the art of being cool and collected at all times."

"Except for retraining. Wait, why was that again?" Andy rolled her eyes, "Oh yeah! Because of you!"

"Trace…"

"Oh wait, didn't he also freak out at the Laundromat? But why would he do that… oh! It was because you were stuck in there!" Andy was shooting daggers at her, "I feel like I'm forgetting something… oh right, he punched Luke in the face!"

"Are you trying to prove some kind of point?"

"No, he does that for me every time he looks at you."

"Wow."

"Seriously, Andy. How can you look in his eyes and not see complete love and adoration?"

Andy groaned and pulled her knees up to her chest, "I'm an idiot."

"It's true. But I love you anyways, and apparently so does Swarek." Traci reached across the table as she spoke to pat her friend's knee.

"What if he didn't mean it? What if it was just drunken blabbering?"

Traci dropped her mouth for dramatic effect and scoffed, "Did you not hear anything I just said?"

"I did. It's just… this is really scary Trace!"

"Andy, I love you so I'm going to say this. Do not be a little bitch. You are better than that. Other people may see fear and run away, but not you and me. We see fear and we walk right through it. I know you're scared but, Andy, you know this thing between you and Sam has the potential to be the best thing that's ever happened to you. Or it could be a horrible train wreck. But either way, I am here. And you'll never know until you try and, please god, you can't keep denying whatever it is you guys have."

Andy couldn't do anything but laugh at her friend's speech, "I don't know why but that actually made me feel better."

Traci smiled, "Good." After finishing up her coffee, she took her mug to the sink and turned to Andy, "So now that we have that settled, should we head off to the first open house?"

"Yes please."

0o0

"I'm driving." Gail barely looked at Andy as she sped by her on her way out of parade.

Traci laughed as she stood from her seat next to Andy, "You gotta love her tact."

Andy rolled her eyes, "Sure."

The girls walked out of parade together, chuckling as they watched Gail and Dov arguing in the bullpen. Andy spotted Sam leaning on one of the desks talking to a few of their fellow officers and after Traci gave her a small shove, made her way over. By the time she was standing in front of him, he was alone and flipping through a report. In the fifteen seconds it took her to reach him, hundreds of conversations openers ran through her mind.

He hadn't heard her approach so she cleared her throat. He looked up from the report and had an annoyed expression on his face until he realized who had broken his concentration. "McNally."

The way he said her name made her forget that all the way through elementary and middle school and most of high school, she hated it. It always sounded so lame to her, unlike those of the popular girls who had pretty last names, like 'Woods'.

She saw a piece of fluff on his shoulder and before thinking about it, reached out and pulled it loose. Only after she had it in her hand did she realize the intimacy of her action and she blushed momentarily before making a sarcastic remark, "Might be time to invest in a lint roller."

She watched the corner of his lips turn into a smile. He had responded but she didn't hear it, she had gotten distracted by the memory of the last time she saw that smile. It was the night before last, after they had kissed goodnight. A silence filled the space between them as he waited for her to respond to his unheard question and she watched his confession play in her memory for the thousandth time. He coughed to get her attention and as reality hit her, she felt awkwardness returning. Her eyes met his and she studied them for a hint of what was going on in his head, knowing that her attempts would be in vain. She saw exactly as much as he wanted her to see, which was next to nothing. She half expected to see regret or embarrassment, or some kind of emotion that a normal person usually feels after making drunken confessions. But she knew that she would find nothing of the sort. Instead, he looked amused. As if he knew exactly what was going through her mind, and she wouldn't be surprised if he actually did.

He smiled and opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by was Best, "Swarek, you got a minute?"

He smirked at her once more before turning to Best, "Sure." Best had begun walking to his office when Sam turned back to her to place a hand on her shoulder, "See you later McNally?"

"Yeah, of course." And with that he was gone.

0o0

The cruiser was silent, save the occasional chatter on the radio, until their first call, a minor two-car collision. It had taken over an hour to get the two drivers to stop arguing and by the time they got back into the cruiser, the air of awkwardness was no longer so thick. After a few minutes of bitching about the absurdity of the civilians they had just had to deal with, Gail kept her eyes on the rode but spoke quietly. "Listen Andy, I didn't mean to… like, hurt you, or whatever on the other night."

Andy glanced at her partner for the day, stunned.

"I'm not very good at being friends with girls. Or people in general, really."

"Really?"

Gail tore her eyes away from the rode just long enough to glare at Andy, "You know, you're not making this easy."

Andy smiled to herself; watching Gail squirm made her happy in a weird way.

"I'm sorry for kissing Swarek." The words were barely audible and Andy considered making her say them again but figured the chances of that happening weren't very good.

"You really don't have anything to apologize for. I have no claim to him."

"Don't be stupid, you have him completely wrapped around your finger," she scoffed, "But that's not the point, I knew it would bother you and I did it anyways."

Andy wasn't shocked by the admission, she knew Gail was competitive in the workplace and it only made sense that that would carry over to her personal life. "It's okay."

"You can make out with Chris, if you want. Then we would be even."

Andy laughed out loud as she turned to the driver, trying to gauge if she was being serious or not. They had just stopped at a red light, giving Gail the opportunity to turn to her partner and shrug, "I really don't know how this whole friendship thing works."

"Not like that Gail." Andy shook her head as she laughed harder than she had in a while. Gail joined in and Andy spent the rest of the shift teaching Gail the basics of friendship.

0o0

Sometime during the shift, Andy decided she needed to listen to what Traci had told her the other morning, to not be a little bitch and just go for it. She paused outside the men's locker room before taking a deep breath and opening the door. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and smirked when he saw the newest occupant of the room.

"I hear you took down an armed robber," said Sam as he pulled a t-shirt over his freshly showered chest.

Andy nodded as she played with the lock on whosever locker she was standing in front of, "With a little help from Gail, yeah."

"Still impressive McNally."

She rolled her eyes, "Sure, it's not like we do that kind of thing every day."

"Do you ever just accept a compliment?"

Shrugging, she replied, "Not really." He laughed lightly as he pulled his shoes out of his locker and took a seat on the bench.

Andy joined him and nudged his shoulder with hers, "So you win big on Friday night?"

He laughed again and nodded, "No, but I did get some." He looked up at her to wink before returning his attention to his shoes.

She blushed and pushed him gently, "I meant in poker, smart ass."

"Oh," He shrugged as he pulled on his second shoe, "Then, yes. I did."

She noticed a group of officers coming in to get ready for the next shift and stood to leave before one of them kicked her out, "Good, then drinks are on you at the Penny tonight." She patted his head before winking and walking out.

0o0

"It's nice to have you at the Penny again, Andy." Chris smiled warmly and it reminded Andy of why she loved him so much.

"It's nice to be back."

Gail rolled her eyes and snorted, "You guys are lame."

"Shut up Gail." Traci said, her attention remaining on the beer in her hand.

Andy tried to keep up with the conversation between her friends as they discussed the cases they had worked that day but she found that her eyes kept drifting towards the door, waiting for someone to appear. The seconds turned into minutes, which quickly became an hour and there was still no Sam.

She reached into her pocket to pull out her phone and was disappointed to find no new messages. Before she could convince herself not to, she typed and sent, "_Where are you?_"

The conversation among the rookies had turned to Leo and his upcoming school play. Andy laughed along with the others but made no attempt to hide checking her phone every couple seconds. Dov made a smart-ass remark about it and she slapped him on the back on the head as she headed to the bar to refill their pitcher. She motioned to the bartender and took a seat as she waited.

"McNally!" She turned in the barstool to find Oliver and Noelle sitting at a table a few feet away. "Come take a seat!"

She watched as Mike, the bartender and honorary member of the 15th family, flirted with a group of young girls and knew it would probably be a while until she got the pitcher so she headed over to the senior officers' table. She smiled as she took a seat, "Hey."

"So how are you doing today McNally?"

Noelle chuckled lightly as Oliver leaned on the table in front him, as if he was preparing for an interrogation.

Andy arched an eyebrow as she looked between the two officers, wondering what she got herself into by sitting with them. "I'm good, thanks. How are you Oliver?"

"Great. Fantastic." He grinned at her and she squirmed awkwardly in her seat. She thought she felt her phone vibrate and pulled it out of her pocket. She sighed audibly when she realized it had only been wishful thinking. Oliver smiled knowingly, "Don't take it personally, McNally. He doesn't really know how to work the thing."

Noelle nodded and said, "It's true. One time, he got mad at me for not answering his text message and didn't believe me when I told him I never got any message. When I looked at his phone, I found the 'message' in his notes application."

Andy laughed and asked, "Seriously?"

Noelle shook her head, "I couldn't believe it. I wouldn't be surprised if he's actually 58, not 38."

"He does have some wicked crows feet." Oliver agreed as he took another sip of his drink.

Noelle laughed and Andy shook her head before turning to Oliver, "Aren't you older than him?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes at her before looking away and muttering, "Barely."

"I wouldn't call five years 'barely', brother." Andy smiled at the sound of her favorite deep voice and turned to find Sam standing behind her.

"Nice of you to join us Sammy." Oliver said as he slapped his friend on the arm.

Sam opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by the bartender, "Andy! Pitchers ready!"

Andy stumbled as she stood from her seat, falling slightly into Sam. He put his hands on her shoulders to help stabilize her and smirked, "You okay there, McNally?"

She rolled her eyes at him and nodded, "Yep." She meant to walk away, to go to the bar and get the pitcher, but the look in his eyes caused her to hesitate. He looked tired, more tired than he did in the locker room after shift, and stressed.

He smiled softly and glanced at the bar briefly before turning his gaze back to her, "You should probably go get that."

She nodded, "Yeah. I probably should." She turned to face Oliver and Noelle, "It was nice, uh, chatting with you guys." Oliver gave her an exaggerated wave and Noelle nodded.

She smiled once more at Sam as she walked to the bar to get the pitcher, "Those girls barely look legal, Mike." He looked up from the beer he was pouring and winked before laughing. Andy shook her head in an obvious sign of disproval before grabbing the pitcher and heading back to where her friends were sitting.

"What took you so long?" Traci asked as she grabbed the pitcher from Andy's hands, wasting no time in pouring herself another glass.

"Mike was hitting on some teenagers."

Dov smirked and opened his mouth to say something but Andy stopped him before he could, "Don't, Dov."

Dov's smile quickly fell into a frown and Traci flicked his shoulder, "You're gross."

Dov shrugged while his fellow rookies laughed at him. Chris had just gotten back from the bathroom and after watching his friends laugh at his roommate, muttered "Do I even want to know what he did this time?"

Traci placed a hand on his shoulder as she stood up from her seat and said, "Probably not." Andy nodded in silent agreement and watched her friend approach the newest arrival to the bar, Jerry.

Chris smiled and asked, "So what were you talking to the TO's about?"

Andy arched an eyebrow in an exaggerated attempt to appear mysterious and replied, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Chris smiled innocently and Andy laughed. His genuine innocence was refreshing but more often than not, she couldn't help but laugh. The conversation quickly turned into a debate about whether or not Chris is too nice to be a cop and though Andy was participating, she had one eye constantly on Sam. She watched as he laughed with Oliver, got his ass beat by Noelle in darts, and did a couple of shots with some officers she didn't know by name. His back was currently to her and her eyes raked over the toned muscles of his shoulders that his grey t-shirt clung to. Her eyes made their way down his back and paused when they reached his butt. Andy would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about that ass pretty frequently ever since she had to pat him down when she had arrested him the first time they met. She had given up on pretending to pay attention to her friends and it wasn't until she felt a slap on her arm that she turned to them, "What?"

Traci was giving her a hard stare when she spoke, "Andy, I've been calling your name for the last minute."

"She was clearly distracted," said Gail as she licked her lips dramatically and winked.

"Sorry. I was, uh, thinking about how I'm going to decorate my new apartment." Andy knew it was a weak excuse but figured it was worth a try.

Traci scoffed and Gail spoke up again, "Don't worry, I'm sure Swarek will go just fine with whatever bed spread you choose."

Andy rolled her eyes but knew that denying it would do no good. Chris was staring at his girlfriend and glanced towards Sam before speaking, "You think he's good looking?"

Gail arched an eyebrow and answered simply, "Yeah. Don't you?"

"No!" He answered quickly and the girls at the table laughed. He looked between them and added, "I mean, I've never thought about it."

Traci turned to Dov and asked, "What about you Dov?"

Dov paused before responding, "Yeah, I'll admit it. Dude's good looking."

Chris spun in his chair to face his roommate, "Man, that's pretty gay."

"It's not gay. Swarek is a good-looking guy. It's fact. It's gay that you won't admit that he's good-looking. What are you trying to hide Chris?"

"Yeah, Chris. What are you trying to hide?" Gail smirked at her boyfriend.

"Nothing! I'm not hiding anything!" Chris frantically looked between his two roommates before settling on Gail, "Fine, you know what? Let's go home and I'll show you how not-gay I am."

Gail arched an eyebrow before standing up, "Let's go." She reached her hand out, which Chris eagerly took and they walked out of the bar after waving to their friends.

"And on that note, I'm heading off. I'm staying at Jerry's tonight, can you find your own way back?" Traci asked Andy.

Andy nodded, her eyes moving to Sam, "I'll figure something out."

Traci turned her head to see what she was looking at and after realizing it was Sam, she grinned. "Goodnight."

Andy and Dov said goodbye in unison. The two remaining rookies chatted for a couple of minutes before Dov left to introduce himself to a woman at the bar, whom he had spent most of the night staring at. Andy finished the rest of her beer before she mustered up enough courage to go up to Sam and ask for a ride home.

0o0

They made small talk as they walked from the Penny to his truck but once they were inside and he was turning out of the parking lot, Andy couldn't help but feel the weight of the other night. The cab of the truck was silent until Sam turned to her at the first red light.

"I don't regret a single thing I've ever done." He said simply.

She turned to him, confused. "Nothing?"

The light had turned green so his eyes were on the road when he responded, "Nope."

"Bullshit. That's not even possible."

"Okay."

She turned to look at the window, and the silence lasted a few dozen seconds but she turned to face him. "Nothing at all?"

He chuckled at her before nodding, "Nothing at all."

She was now completely turned towards him, with her legs folded and her left arm resting against the back of her seat, "I can totally think of something you regret."

"Go for it."

She glared at his sarcasm.

She was deep in thought and it was a few blocks until he prodded, "Let me know when you think of something."

"I will think of something."

"Okay."

They had driven another couple of blocks when she gasped, "Leaving me with Ray Swann when you insisted on peeing in the woods!" She looked so proud of herself that Sam momentarily considered giving in just to see that smile stay on her face. However the moment quickly passed and he shook his head.

"Nope."

"You're such a liar. You wouldn't take that back? We spent like three hours searching the woods for him, and you hate all things wilderness."

"We found him, didn't we?"

"That's not the point."

"Okay. Still don't regret it."

"Fine. I still don't believe you but I'll think of another example."

"Great."

They were outside Traci's apartment and Andy sighed dramatically, "You seriously don't regret anything?"

"Not even a little bit."

"How is that possible? I regret having cereal instead of oatmeal for breakfast this morning. I always think cereal is going to be so much more filling that it really is."

He stared at her, unblinking, before rolling his eyes, "That must be a real weight on your shoulders."

"Shut up. So how?"

"It's easy. See I'm a simple guy McNally. I listen to my gut, always. Sometimes things work out and sometimes they don't. Most of the time, it's out of my control. But either way, I know that I did the best I could."

His voice was low and her eyes were trained on him as she digested his words. She knew he wasn't talking about the job and that he never was. She felt a warmth spread through her body and a grin stretched from one ear to the other. She brought one hand to his cheek, her thumb lightly caressing, as the distance between them closed. His nose brushed against hers and her entire body tingled in anticipation. His lips met hers and it was so much better than she remembered. The kiss was light and short, and after he pulled away her eyes were still closed. She gave herself a few moments to recompose before she opened them and raised her eyes to his.

She smiled and said goodnight. She had one hand on the doorknob when an idea popped into her head, "Do you want to get breakfast with me before shift tomorrow?"

Her favorite dimples made an appearance as he nodded, "Yeah, I do. Pick you up at eight?"

"Sure." They exchanged goodnights once more and she got out of the truck. She didn't make it far before turning to watching him drive away and it wasn't until the grey truck was no longer in view that she turned around, with two fingers grazing her lips and a wide smile on her face.


	8. Chapter Eight

Thank you so much for the reviews! I honestly love reading them and I appreciate the effort so much. I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter up. School sucks. So this chapter is a little longer than the others have been so far, but hopefully you like it! Please let me know what you think! Reviews are the best, so feel free to leave one! Once again, I apologize for all the mistakes present. Wrote this one very late one sleepless night. Anyways, enjoy! Oh and I don't own Rookie Blue or its characters. Obviously.

Oh one more thing. The way I see this story going there are two chapters left. Just so you know. Okay, now enjoy!

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><p>"That definitely never happened." Andy said, her mouth still full of hash browns.<p>

Sam peered at her from over his coffee mug with an indistinguishable look of either disgust or amusement. He took a long sip before setting it down and leaning forward. "First of all, that's disgusting. And secondly, it definitely did," he replied smoothly.

She smirked, swallowing the thoroughly chewed potatoes as she narrowed her eyes. "So you're telling me that when Jerry ran out of money at poker night, you made him bet the hair on his…" She paused, unsure of how to word the rest of her sentence. Unfortunately, Sam wasn't as concerned.

"Balls. Yes." His voice was loud and Andy's eyes widened as she glanced around the small diner to see if anyone else heard him. Convinced that the elderly women in the booth across from theirs had, she smiled and offered a small wave as a condolence for the vulgar intrusion on their breakfast time. Satisfied with the smiles she received in response from the women, she turned back to Sam.

"Okay, now that's disgusting." She told him quietly, her disapproval evident in her tone.

Her lack of amusement didn't dampen his. "It was the only hair he had left. He already lost his facial hair last time."

She looked at him in bewilderment. "You made him wax his face?"

"Why do you think his face looked like a baby's bottom?" He smirked with blatant self-satisfaction. She watched him take another sip of his coffee, the corners of her mouth turning upwards involuntarily. The smirk on his face faded into the genuine smile Andy had been seeing on an increasingly frequent basis in the week since their first breakfast date. The week had sped by, due in part to a crazy work schedule but mostly to their almost-daily breakfast dates. Though it was constricted to a mere hour due to consecutive early morning shifts, it had been Andy's favorite hour each day of the week. They spend the time together joking about people and events from the 15th division and although nothing significant was discussed, Andy felt content in a way she couldn't remember feeling ever before.

He kicked her lightly under the table to pull her head out of the clouds. She shot him a pointed look as she took another bite of her omelet, this time giving herself enough time to swallow before speaking. "How do you even know if he actually went through with it this time?" She asked, hoping the flaw in his plan would wipe the cocky smirk off his face.

Instead, his smirk widened. "You didn't notice the way he was walking?"

"You're kidding," She shook her head in disbelief.

"Nope," he answered coolly.

"That's bad," Andy shook her the forkful of egg in her hand at him before shoving it in her mouth.

Sam made an attempt to grab her waving hand holding the fork but missed by a fraction of a second. "I don't know, I'm sure Traci appreciates it."

Andy coughed on her food and exclaimed, "Sam!"

"What?"

"I'm eating! Why would you even go there?"

"I know you are… still. If you don't hurry it up, we're going to be late." He ignored the dirty look she shot him and signaled to their waitress for the bill as she walked by their booth. Her eyes took in the appreciative glance the young woman in an unfortunate green uniform gave him as she dipped her last fork full of hash browns into the heap of ketchup left on his otherwise empty plate.

"Seriously McNally, hurry it up." She smiled sweetly, showing off her partially chewed potato and ketchup mouthful. He winced at the site. "Jesus, Andy."

She laughed as he threw a napkin at her. Sam watched her, initially laughing with her but his face grew concerned soon after her laughter had become choking. "You okay Andy?"

She nodded as she reached for her glass of water. After taking a long sip, her face returned to its normal shade and his face relaxed.

"You have a level of grace that few have been able to achieve," he told her casually.

"Thank you." She ignored the obvious sarcasm in his statement, winking as she placed her utensils down on the table.

He pulled his wallet out his back pocket and placed a twenty on top of the bill. "Ready to get outta here?"

She glanced down at her empty plate and replied with a frown, "Yeah."

He chuckled as he rose from the bench, reaching for their jackets on the coat hook on the side of the booth. He did up his jacket quickly and moved to exit the diner but paused at the door to shoot Andy an irritated look when he noticed she was not behind him. Catching his glance, she took her time looping the last few buttons through the corresponding holes. She watched him lean against the door, admiring the way his biceps flexed when he folded his arms on his chest. With her jacket done up, she made her way to him and before she realized what was happening, laced her fingers through his. His eyes were wide in surprise when he looked down at her and she felt her pulse stop suddenly before accelerating rapidly. The act had surprised her as much as the expression on his face told her it surprised him. Insecurity began to rise within her and she was about to pull her hand away and make a lame joke when the surprise faded from his face and a look of contentment took its place. The feeling was contagious and it lasted the rest of the day.

0o0

"Well hello there," Traci said, her voice light with humor, as Andy raced through the locker room.

Andy grinned as she dropped her bag and began twisting her lock. Traci was just doing up the last button on her uniform when she turned to face her friend.

"How was breakfast?"

"Great," Andy replied easily.

"Just so you know, I am slightly offended that you spent most of our last week as roommates with Sam," Traci teased, wiggling her finger accusingly at Andy.

Andy chuckled sadly. "I know, I'm sorry."

Traci shrugged as she shut her locker. "Don't apologize to me, Leo is the one that can barely eat he's so upset."

Andy paused from buttoning up her uniform. "Do not use your son to manipulate me!"

"I'm sorry, that was a low blow." Traci agreed, taking a seat on the bench as she adjusted her bun. "Well, at least one of us is getting some."

Andy arched an eyebrow. "Something up with you and Jerry?" she asked.

"No," Traci sighed, "he's just been busy with that double homicide."

"What can I say, detectives' suck." Andy stated simply.

Traci leaned back on the bench, raising her eyebrows.

"I'm kidding," Andy muttered. "Mostly."

"Sure," Traci snorted. "So, while we're on the subject, how is it with Sam?"

Andy had just finished getting dressed and was braiding her hair into a tight French braid but she question made her mix up the sections and she had to start again.

"I mean," Traci begun. "A year and a half of sexual tension must have amounted to some pretty mind-blowing sex."

Andy laughed awkwardly as she considered lying to her closest friend. After getting her braid right the second time, she shrugged noncommittally as she shut her locker.

"What?"

Andy turned to face her friend, glancing down at her watch to see they still had a few minutes until parade started. Remembering how horrible she is at lying, she resigned herself to telling her friend the embarrassing truth.

"We, uh, haven't." Andy confessed, her cheeks flushing as Traci let out a minor gasp.

"Huh." Traci leaned forward on the bench, placing her elbows on her knees so she could rest her head on her hands.

"Yeah…" Andy raised her hand to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, I guess that's the mature thing to do." Traci said in an uncertain tone.

Andy groaned. "Is it really though?"

"You have only been dating for like a week." Traci suggested.

"We aren't even dating," Andy started. "I mean we haven't talked about it or anything. But I guess we have been going on dates. Does breakfast even count as a date?"

Traci ignored her; her mind was still on the lack of sex in her friend's life. "But he has been in love with you for over a year."

Traci rolled her eyes when she glanced up and saw that Andy was blushing. "Please don't deny it."

"I wasn't going to," Andy defended herself lamely.

"Good."

Andy leaned against her locker, groaning loudly.

Traci checked her watch and stood from the bench when she realized the time. "He's probably just waiting for you to make the first move. You are the one coming out of a serious relationship."

Andy pushed herself off the locker to follow her friend out of the locker room. "No, I don't think that's it. The other day when we were watching a movie at his place, I was pretty much all over him and he shut me down."

Traci was a few steps in front of Andy and when she reached the parade room, she peaked inside. After noticing that Best was not yet standing at the front of the room, she pulled Andy into the adjoining hallway.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously." Andy said soberly.

"Okay, that's weird."

"I know." Andy placed her face in her hands and sighed dramatically.

Traci opened her mouth to speak but shut it promptly as Sergeant Best walked briskly by them into the room. "Shit, let's go."

Traci pulled Andy by the sleeve of her uniform and whispered playfully as they entered the room, "Maybe he just doesn't find you attractive?"

Andy scoffed. "Thanks, Trace." Andy's eyes scanned the room for Sam as they weaved through the back of the room, finding him in the back corner laughing with Oliver and another officer.

Traci chuckled as they moved through the center of the room to their usual seats at the front.

"Nash, McNally. Thanks for joining us." Best's voice was heavy with irritation and the low murmur of laugher from their fellow rookies only increased the embarrassment Andy felt. She glanced back to where Sam was leaning against a window ledge, narrowing her eyes when she saw the amused expression on his face.

Parade was longer than usual as Jerry updated everyone on the double homicide and appointed over half the shift to re-canvas the neighborhood where the victims were last seen. Andy managed to pay attention while he spoke but by the time Best took over for announcements, her attention span was shot. Her thoughts drifted to her conversation with Traci and she considered the possibility that Sam was, indeed, not attracted to her. The evident against the claim was significantly than that for it but Andy still couldn't shake the feeling. The sound of her name pulled her out of her reverie, and she managed to pay attention long enough to hear that she was partnered with Oliver Shaw for patrol.

The room began to clear out as soon as Best finished his daily speech and Andy turned to face the back of the room, looking for her partner for the day. She saw him smack Sam on the back and walk towards the exit.

"McNally, meet at the cruiser in 5." He called out to her without pausing or looking at her.

"Sure." She replied in vain as he was already out the door. Sam had moved to meet her in the center of the room, laughing lightly as he pointed to her face.

"McNally, you got a little ketchup on your cheek." He told her.

She rolled her eyes as a hand carelessly wiped her cheek. She checked her ketchup-free hand and grumbled. "I do not."

"Come here." She took a tentative step toward him and he rolled his eyes as he reached out and pulled her closer. He cupped her cheek with his hand and his thumb lightly wiped away the remnants of her breakfast. His hand moved slowly as it left her cheek and paused to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear before settling in his pocket.

She froze, suddenly away of where they were. She glanced around the room to see if they were alone. Satisfied when she saw that the room was empty, she let herself lean into him slightly. She felt his chest rumble with laughter. "Don't want anyone to see you with me, eh?"

"Pretty much," she replied smoothly.

His chest rumbled again as he chuckled.

"Oh, I forgot to ask you. Can you help me move to my new place tomorrow?" She asked as she took a step back from him and straightened herself.

He arched an eyebrow. "What's in it for me?"

"Free meals."

"Meals? How long is it going to take?"

"I have a lot of stuff. And it's kind of dispersed; some is at Traci's, some is in a storage unit, and most of it is at my dad's." She explained.

He shook his head. "Women."

"Oh please. You're more of a woman than I am." She countered.

His eyes widened and he folded his arms across his chest. "You better watch yourself McNally. Especially if you want me to help you move tomorrow."

She laughed and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm kidding. Don't be so sensitive, Swarek."

"Calling me sensitive is not much better than calling me a woman." He replied, rolling his eyes.

She ignored him and leaned in seductively. "So, will you?"

She stood closer to him than was appropriate at the barn, the tips of their toes were only an inch or two apart and she could feel his uniquely-Sam scent begin to overwhelm her.

He chuckled as he watched her pupils dilate. "I have something to take of during the day, but I can help out after seven."

She nodded and took a shaky step away from him and towards the door. "Okay, thanks."

"Anything for you, McNally." His tone was light with sarcasm but Andy knew his words were true, regardless.

0o0

"So, my wife really seems to have taken a liking to you McNally." Oliver was leaning against the hood of the cruiser as Andy made her way over to him.

"What can I say, I'm a likeable person." She flashed a quick smile his way as she moved pass him to the passenger side of the car.

"Whoa, what do you think you're doing?"

"Getting in the cruiser?" She responded coyly.

He coughed and arched an eyebrow. "Wrong side. You're driving today."

Her eyes widened in excitement. "Really?"

"No." He laughed maniacally. "Sammy's right. That was fun."

"It's not funny," she muttered as she pulled the passenger door open.

He pulled the keys out of his pocket with his hand that wasn't holding his bagel and smirked at her as he got into the driver's seat.

Oliver hummed a song that Andy had never heard as he chewed loudly on his bagel. She shot him a look before pulling her phone out of her pocket and typing a message. Oliver watched the former rookie from the corner of his eye as he kept his focus on the road. They rode in relative silence for the first twenty minutes, with the only sounds coming from Oliver's humming and the occasional 'ping' from Andy's phone, signaling another message from Sam.

With each 'ping' Oliver's humming grew louder and when he realized he couldn't hum any louder, he turned to face the passenger seat. "You know, it's not cute."

Andy dropped her phone in her pocket as she glanced at him, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion. "What?"

He pointed at the pocket holding her phone. "The constantly texting thing."

"I am not constantly texting." She argued.

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"

She nodded.

"Just last night, Sammy was over for a nice family dinner; texting the whole time. You know, I expect it from my daughters. I can deal with them constantly texting. Mostly because it is kind of cute when they do it. You know, they don't even have real cell phones. They're too young for that, but they like to feel like big girls so we got them fake plastic phones. They love them, it's great."

Andy chuckled. "So who are they texting?"

"No one, McNally." Oliver sighed. "The phones are fake, they're just pressing the buttons."

"I know - I was kidding… never mind."

"Anyways," he started. "My point is that Sammy is almost forty. It is not cute. You are also too old. How old are you McNally?"

"None of your business."

"Fine. Well, however old you are, you are above ten so it is not cute."

Her phone 'ping'ed and Oliver threw his arms up in frustration. "I swear to god McNally, if I have to hear that damn noise one more time…"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm stopping. But, just so you know, I was only texting because you were chewing so loudly."

"Eating is a necessity, texting is not."

"Yes, but eating as often as you do is not." Andy countered.

Oliver laughed sarcastically as he pulled up to a small coffee shop.

"Why are we pulling over here?"

"Because we are going to get coffee and have a chat." Oliver pulled the car into a parking spot close to the entrance.

Andy watched him pull his seatbelt off and felt a sinking feeling in her gut, like this was going to be a conversation she wouldn't enjoy. "Shouldn't we do or jobs, or something?"

"Just get out of the car McNally." Oliver didn't wait for her to respond before opening his door and getting out.

She sighed and followed his lead.

They sat at a table by the front with their drinks, Andy staring out the window and Oliver staring at Andy. He cleared his throat, nonverbally asking Andy to turn her attention to him. She slowly turned to face him.

"Zoe was very offended when Sammy barely ate the delicious meal she cooked last night. He was too distracted. You know, texting you." Oliver played with the rim of his coffee lid but his stare was intently focused on Andy.

Andy blushed. "Okay." She glanced around the coffee shop, realizing that she would literally rather be any other person in the room if it meant she didn't have to sit across from Oliver and have the conversation she was pretty sure they were about to have. She would even be willing to be the young girl in the far corner, whom Andy was pretty sure was about to get dumped by the boy sitting across from her.

"Until I told her about you. Now she's just really excited." A small smile spread across Oliver's face. Andy relaxed slightly now that he no longer looked like he was about to slap her across the face but confusion quickly overtook her.

"I don't really understand what we're talking about." She confessed.

"I'll start at the beginning." Oliver leaned forward on the table, his tone barely containing his excitement for what he was about to say.

"Perfect." Andy leaned back in her seat, letting herself get comfortable.

"See, Zoe had just about given up on Sammy. Over the course of our marriage, she's set him up on dozens of dates. With all different kinds of girls too, she even wanted to set him up with a guy. You know, she figured maybe the reason why he never met the right girl is because he's not into girls. But that's another story. You met Monica right?"

Andy nodded slowly as she digested the simple question. Her mind was still focused on the date-with-another-guy thing.

"She's a friend of Zoe's from Mt. Sinai Hospital - Zoe's a child psychologist there. They actually lasted pretty long, surprisingly. I have no idea what Sam would have in common with a doctor with a medical degree from Princeton. Sammy barely passed high school." Oliver chuckled, "Did you know that?"

"No," she answered honestly.

"It's true. He's one of the smartest guys I know but the guy can't pay attention in a classroom to save his life. He's also not so great at reading… or writing, really. But you know that if you've ever read any of his reports."

Andy smiled and nodded; she had known that fact very well. The only book she had ever heard him mention was Moby Dick, and it was on tape. "You guys knew each other in high school?"

"Well, as you so kindly pointed out last week at the Penny, I am a few years older than Sam. So I was just finishing up my third year of university when I met him. He was a junior in high school at the time, I think."

Andy raised an eyebrow, sensing an interesting story coming. "How'd you meet?"

Oliver sighed and chuckled. "That's the fun part, McNally. See, high school Sam was a real punk. You know the type: too cool for everything. Except, of course, for women and fighting."

"Women and fighting?" Andy laughed, wondering how much he had really changed since his teenage years.

"Yep, women and fighting. You may think that his whole mysterious act is something he's developed over the years for the ladies. But I'm pretty sure he was just born that way." Oliver took a bite of the cookie he ordered, sighing happily as he swallowed.

"What does this have to do with how you met?"

"I am getting there, McNally. See, Sammy had this thing about protecting his sister. You can't blame the guy, she had it pretty rough."

"Oh," Andy clued to where he was going with this. "You hit on Sarah and he beat you up?"

"Pretty much."

Andy laughed. "I can see it."

"Yeah, yeah." He muttered, trying to sound bitter about it but the smirk on his face gave him away. "Sarah worked at the campus library I always studied at, so we ended up getting pretty close."

"And then you made a move and Sam wasn't too happy about it?"

"More or less. It was perfect timing, actually. I used to walk her home from the library and one time, I was leaning in to kiss her goodnight just as Sam was walking up the driveway. Obviously, I never got that kiss. Though I did get a nice fist to the face… multiple times."

Andy covered her mouth with one hand, trying not to laugh. "Wow."

"Yeah. I like to think that him introducing me to Zoe is his way of paying me back for that."

"Good way of looking at it," Andy snorted.

"It all works out the way it's supposed to," Oliver smiled softy as the index finger and thumb of his right hand played with the band on his wedding finger.

"You're a pretty corny guy, aren't you?" Andy teased warmly.

"And I'm not ashamed of it. Zo and I are hopeless romantics. It's why we work so well together. It's also why we've never given up on Sam. I knew that some day he would meet a girl that's as big as a pain-in-the-ass as he is." He winked at her, making sure she knew whom he was talking about.

Andy felt the air around her get heavier as the conversation took the turn she was hoping it wouldn't.

"Listen Andy, I know this isn't my business and I'm not trying to freak you out, which I clearly have already done, but Sammy is my brother. I know things are complicated between you guys but Sammy never tells me anything so I don't even know what's going on, but I do see the way you look at each other."

Andy had her eyes trained on the car dealership across from the coffee shop as her brain tried to digest Oliver's words. He waited for her to say something and when she didn't, he continued.

"Sam is a good guy. Maybe even one of the best guys. But he's also an idiot. I'm sure you know that, but what you don't know is that he has never cared about a girl as much as he cares about you. Sam doesn't have female friends, he never has. Not even one, ever. Except for you, McNally."

"What about Zoe?" Andy asked without removing her eyes from the couple checking out a bright red sedan.

"She's family to him, it's different." Oliver answered easily.

Andy nodded.

"I know he's going to kick my ass when he finds out about this conversation, and I can't blame him. I am seriously overstepping my boundaries here but I just really want you to know he really cares about you. And even though he's an idiot with no idea how to be in a real relationship - of any kind, really - he will do everything in his power to make sure no one ever hurts you. Including himself."

Andy remained silent as Oliver picked at his cookie, waiting for her to say something. Her fingers keyed the table as her legs bounced up and down. After a few minutes, she tore she eyes away from the window and focused on Oliver. "I know he's a good guy."

Oliver smiled. "I know you do."

"I care about him a lot too."

"I also know that."

"Good." A small smile spread slowly across her face. As much as she wanted to be angry with Oliver for putting his nose in her business, she just couldn't muster it. His words were thoughtful and kind and she couldn't help but respect the love he has for his makeshift brother.

They sat in companionable silence while they finished their coffees, each breaking the silence periodically to share a funny story from their recent shifts, most of them including Epstein, whom Andy was learning that Oliver had a real affinity for.

"I'm telling you, Peckstein is going to happen."

Andy laughed hard enough for coffee to drip down her nose. "No way, that is never going to happen."

"You sure about that? We have a pretty big pool going." Oliver told her as he passed her a napkin.

"That's pathetic, really."

"You gotta get your kicks somewhere McNally, and it may as well be with other people's love lives."

"Pathetic, Oliver." Andy teased.

"It's Officer Shaw to you, McNally." Andy raised her eyebrows in surprise at his sudden change in tone but once the realization that it signaled the end of the discussion of her relationship with Sam, she felt relieved.

"Sorry. That is pathetic, Officer Shaw."

"Much better. Now, let's get outta here. We've got bad guys to catch." He stood quickly from his seat at the table as he plopped the last piece of cookie in his mouth. Andy finished off her coffee before standing but Oliver didn't wait, he was already in the cruiser by the time she had her jacket back on. Soon after they got back into the cruiser, they got called to help with Jerry's big case.

0o0

"No, Dov. Please don't." Andy was pleading with him as she watched him twirl her phone in his hand.

He smirked and asked, "Just curious, is Swarek a smiley-face kind of guy? Or is he into the short forms? You know, leaving out vowels because, really, who needs em?"

"You're dumb," Gail said, keeping her head on Chris's shoulder, but raised her arm to flick him in the ear.

"Please give me my phone back. I wasn't even texting him." Andy was only half lying – she had been texting Sam, but she had also been texting Traci, who was stuck at home with a sick little boy.

"Do not insult my intelligence Andy."

Chris and Gail had stopped paying attention to the argument in front of them, instead choosing to go play a round of darts.

"Dov. Give me my phone, now." Andy said, all the humor from her face gone.

Dov frowned and reluctantly passed the phone back. "You know, it's kind of pathetic to text someone whose sitting like twenty feet away from you," he said, his tone both playful and slightly judging.

"Shut up," she retorted lamely while typing another message. Dov had his eyes on Sam, watching as he pulled his phone out of his pocket only to have Oliver grab it.

"You do realize Shaw is you in twenty years," Andy said, looking over to see what Dov was staring at. They both watched as Sam slapped Oliver on the back of his head until his phone was back in his hand.

"Man I hope so. He's a great guy with a great life." Andy smiled as she turned to face Dov. It was times like that when she remembered why she considered him one of her closest friends. "Plus I hear his wife is smoking."

And then he said things like that.

"So, McNally. What's up with you and Swarek? It's the talk of the division, you know." Dov raised his eyebrows suggestively as he took another swig from his beer.

Andy sighed. "Great. What are people saying?"

"I've heard a bunch of different shit actually. I've heard that you're engaged, actually." He told her as a smile played on his lips.

"Who would say that? We are obviously not engaged." Andy pointed to her empty finger, laughing with little humor.

Dov shrugged. "You never know, Swarek doesn't seem like the traditional engagement ring kind of guy."

Andy sighed. "Whatever. What else have you heard?"

Dov leaned back in his chair as he tried to remember the best of the stories he'd heard around the station. "That the real reason you and Callaghan broke up is because you were having a steamy affair with Swarek and now you're pregnant and you don't know who the father is."

Andy's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to laugh but no sound escaped. "You're kidding, right?"

Dov smirked. "I'm not, that's the best part. I actually heard that."

"I'm at the Penny all the time, drinking alcohol."

"Yeah, that's not the most realistic one." He admitted.

"It's like high school in here." Andy said, shaking her head as she glanced around the bar.

"It's great, isn't it?"

"No, Dov." Andy grumbled. "By the way, can you and Chris help me with moving tomorrow?"

Dov nodded. "Sure."

"You're the best."

"It's true," he grinned. "I am."

Andy laughed, feeling the stress of the day lift of her shoulders with each passing minute. Dov kept her laughing when his story from the ridiculous B&E call he and Chris were called to that day. She had just snorted of laughter when she felt a firm grip on her shoulder.

"Classy as always, McNally." Andy could hear the smirk in his deep voice before she turned to face him.

"You're an ass." She grumbled, jabbing her elbow lightly into his stomach.

"Swarek." Dov nodded at Sam, who returned the greeting.

He had his hands on her shoulders and massaged them gently as he leaned forward. "So I just came over to tell you I'm heading out, do you need a ride?"

Andy moaned lightly at the pressure he was applying to her shoulder muscles before shaking her head. "No, I have Traci's car. But thanks."

His hands dug into her shoulders once more before he released the grip. "Okee-dok. See you tomorrow." He winked before turning and walking through the bar and out the front door.

Dov waited until the door swung closed. "You sure you're not pregnant with a Callaghan-Swarek hybrid baby?"

Andy coughed in shock. "Gail was right, you are dumb."

Dov smirked, winking in response.

"And on that note, I'm going home." Andy stood from her seat, shrugging on her jacket as Dov finished off his beer.

"That'd be a freaky looking baby." Dov mused.

Andy narrowed her eyes. "Please, stop. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget to bring Chris."

"Yeah, yeah. I won't. See you tomorrow Andy."

She waved as she walked out the bar. The air was chillier than she expected so she pulled the open flaps of her jacket tightly around her body. She cursed herself for parking the car at the far end of the parking lot as she lightly jogged the distance, only seeing the figure leaning against the driver's door when she was a few feet away. She recognized him instantly; she had spent enough time examining that frame to recognize it anywhere.

"Sam?"

He turned his head to face her and she wasn't surprised to see him smirking. "Andy."

"I thought you left." He took a step closer to her and nodded.

"I did leave the bar, I just didn't make it very far." He said simply, taking another step closer so that there was only an inch between them.

"Did you forget something?" She asked coyly.

"Actually, yes." He smiled as his head bowed to close the distance between them. He kissed her hard, with one hand on her lower back the other on her neck, his fingers raking through her hair. Her hands grabbed the material of the t-shirt underneath his open jacket, pulling him into her. She moaned and he repositioned them so that she was flat against the car and his arms had her caged in on both sides. The kiss ended way too soon, leaving Andy incapacitated as he backed away from her slowly.

"Goodnight, Andy."

"Goodnight, Sam."


	9. Chapter Nine

Your reviews are so amazing! You have no idea how much I truly love reading them! I love hearing what you think, your suggestions and criticisms and everything. I apologize for how long it took me to put this chapter up. Honestly, I had this whole plan for this chapter and the next one but then I wrote it… and didn't like it. So then I wrote this… and I'm just going to post it because I know that if I don't, I'm going to rewrite it another twenty times. I really hope you like it! Please do let me know what you think though. Also, I am super open to suggestions. I kind of went off course with this chapter. Not like I really had much mapped out anyways but, you know. And, like usual, I apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors. Please feel free to leave a review!

I do not own Rookie Blue… obviously.

* * *

><p>"We have to turn it on its side," Dov said, his voice strained from the physical exertion of lifting a full size couch up three flights of stairs.<p>

Andy watched from the other side of the doorframe, nodding. "Yeah, that would probably work better."

"Thanks, Andy. That definitely makes up for you not helping with the actual moving part of this." Dov replied sarcastically.

"Don't blame her, Dov." Chris groaned from the other side of the couch, balancing it carefully on a raised knee so he could itch his nose. "You're the one that said this is a man's job."

"Whatever." Dov muttered, giving the couch a small shove to throw Chris off his balance.

The boys maneuvered the couch for the third time and ten minutes later the three of them were lounging on it, each with a cold beer in their hand. It was the last piece of furniture to be moved and as Andy looked around her newly furnished apartment, she already felt at home.

"I can't believe you made us go all the way to that storage place to get all this shit." Dov said as stood from his seat beside Andy and did a lap around the apartment.

Andy rolled her eyes. "It wasn't that far."

Dov scoffed from the corner. "Yeah, okay."

"Drinks on me at the Penny tomorrow?" She offered with a goofy grin.

"What about tonight?" Dov glanced down at his watch. "It's still early."

"Can't tonight," she replied, shaking her head.

"Why not?" Dov asked from the kitchen. She heard him laugh and glanced over to see him standing in the place where a fridge should be. "And why don't you have a fridge?"

"I have plans," she said easily. "And don't judge me. It's getting delivered in a few days."

Dov arched an eyebrow. "With who? Traci's home with Leo and Gail is at dinner with her parents. You don't have any other friends."

Andy snorted. She was slightly offended at his claim, regardless of how true it might have been. "That you know of," she retorted lamely.

"Oh." Dov smirked as he grabbed another beer from the counter and made his way back over to the couch.

"What?" she asked. "What is that stupid face for?"

"Swarek." He winked as he snapped the top off the bottle.

Andy twitched nervously but tried to cover it up as a nonchalant shrug. "Um, no."

Dov laughed lightly. "Why are you denying it? Everyone knows you're together."

"We're not together." She shrugged again

"Andy, common." Chris chimed in from his position on the armrest of the couch. "Even I know."

"Know what? We've just been hanging out."

Dov and Chris exchanged a look, chuckling. "Hanging out." Dov wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Andy rolled her eyes. "That is not what I meant."

"Right. Why do you care if people know, anyways?" Chris asked.

"It's not that… I mean, maybe it is." She confessed. "I just don't want to people to think I just, like, jump from guy to guy."

"It's been like a full six weeks since you and Luke broke up, no one would think that."

Andy turned to Chris with a small smile on her face. "Is he being serious?"

Chris smiled back. "Sadly, yes."

They both turned to Dov. "Six weeks is not a lot," Chris explained.

Dov rolled his eyes at the condescension in his friend's tone. "It is when the guy is a piece of shit that doesn't deserve any second thought."

"Wow," Andy stuttered. "That was actually pretty sweet, in a weird way."

"It's true," He said simply. "You didn't deserve to be treated like that. You're awesome and you deserve someone who knows it."

"Uh, thanks." Andy felt a blush creep up her neck.

"And honestly, Andy, I don't know what you're worried about. No one would say crap about you. And even if someone wanted too, they wouldn't; everyone's too scared of Swarek."

"Well they obviously wouldn't say anything in front of him," she muttered as she rolled her eyes.

Chris laughed. "Apparently that's not so obvious to everyone. Last month this guy – Jeffreys, I think – he…"

"Chris, shut up." Dov said, glaring as he cut him off.

Andy looked between the two boys before settling her stare on Chris. "No, tell me. What about Jeffreys? Wait, who is Jeffreys?"

Chris looked genuinely confused by Dov's objection and she watched as they had a nonverbal conversation with their expressions that ending with Dov shrugging in surrender.

"The guy with that weird birth mark on his neck," Dov explained before talking a swig from his beer.

"Oh, yeah. I know who you're talking about. What did he say?"

Chris and Dov exchanged another look. "Just tell me."

"He said that with how often you screw up, it's a good thing you have such a nice ass."

Andy's eyes widened. "What?"

"Or something like that," Chris added sheepishly.

"Wow." She sunk back into the couch.

"Told you she wouldn't take it as a compliment," Dov mumbled under his breath.

"Yeah, my bad." Chris admitted as a slight blush spread through his cheeks.

Andy groaned dramatically as she fell sideways onto to Chris, letting her head use his shoulder as a pillow. "The division is actually high school. Except worse, if that's even possible."

"You should be flattered. You're the 'It' girl, Andy." Chris teased softly as he laid his arm over her shoulders.

"No, I'm not. I'm the stupid rookie that screws everything up." She muttered soberly.

"No," Dov corrected. "You're the stupid rookie _with a great ass_ that screws everything up."

Andy gasped, grabbing the pillow out from behind her and slapping him in the face with it. "It's not funny!"

"Okay, okay." Dov conceded. "Too soon, I get it."

"You know, I should give that Jeffreys guy a piece of my mind." The look of self-pity on her face faded into one of determination as she pulled herself upright.

"No need, Swarek set him straight." He made no attempt to hide his admiration for the senior officer.

"What do you mean 'set him straight'?" Andy asked hesitantly.

Dov laughed when he glanced at her, noticing the fearful look on her face. "Don't worry, he didn't go all 'retraining' on him. He just let him know, very politely might I add, that he wouldn't tolerate such things being said about you."

Andy smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure it was real polite."

"Whatever. The point is no one will mess with you. So embrace the love." Dov said, half laughing as he scooted closer to her on the couch and threw an arm around her shoulder. "You show off your man, honey."

Andy laughed out loud as she put a hand on his chest and pushed him away lightly. "You did not just say that."

Chris stood up from the couch and arched an eyebrow at his roommate. "Dude."

"I may have watched a 'Tyra' marathon with Gail the other day," Dov said, his tone void of any shame.

"I will never understand you two," Andy said, shaking her head as she laughed lightly.

He shrugged as he finished off his beer. "The Xbox wasn't working."

"Speaking of Gail, I have to go pick her up from her parents place, you coming with?" Chris asked Dov as he slipped his jacket on.

Dov looked at the empty bottle in his hand and glanced up at him. "Penny after?"

"Sure," Chris replied, shrugging.

Dov grinned. "Let's do it." He grabbed his own jacket and swung it over his shoulder as he turned to face Andy. "Have fun with Swarek tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Andy rolled her eyes as she raised herself off the couch and walked them to the door. "Thanks for the help guys."

Chris smiled and pulled her into a hug. "No problem."

Dov stood on the other side of the doorframe and gave her a small wave. "Oh and just so you know, there's nothing I wouldn't do."

Andy groaned and tried to shut the door but Dov blocked her move with his hand. "Please leave now," she said, laughing in spite of herself.

Dov stuck his head in the small space between the door and the doorframe. "One time, me and Edie…"

Chris rolled his eyes and pulled his friend by the hood of his sweater. "Common, Dov. No one needs to hear about your freaky stripper sex."

"Why? It was awesome." Dov retorted as he was pulled away from her apartment. Andy could hear Dov and Chris argue through the closed door as she locked it and moved to clean the mess the boys had made in preparation for her next visitor.

0o0

An hour later, Andy paced the place in front of her couch, glancing at the newly hung clock on the opposite wall every few seconds. Finally, she heard a strong knock on the door.

She smiled to herself as she practically skipped across the apartment, pausing briefly to check her reflection in the TV. When she pulled the door open she was surprised to find her ex-fiancé standing on the other side.

"Luke," she said, confusion clear in her tone. "Hey."

He laughed as he shook his head. "You forgot we said Tuesday, didn't you?"

Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to remember what he was talking about. Her eyes drifted down his body and when she saw the box in his hands it all came back and she chuckled. "Yeah, I did. I'm sorry, come in."

She moved aside as he walked through the open door and into the open-concept living space. "It's beautiful, Andy."

She grinned. "Thanks, I think so too."

He walked to the kitchen area before turning back to her. "Is here good?" He asked, tilting his head downwards towards the box in his arms.

"Yeah, that's great thanks." She said as she made her way towards him.

He placed the box on the island separating the kitchen from the rest of the room. "I'd offer you something to drink but, as you can see, I don't really have anything to offer." She said with a small smirk.

He glanced around his surroundings an arched an eyebrow. "No fridge?"

"Not yet," she replied as she began pulling things out of the box. "It's coming tomorrow."

"Ah, I see."

"The coffee maker!" She exclaimed as she pulled a small black appliance from the box, a big grin occupying her face.

Luke shrugged. "Well, you were the only one who could ever make a decent cup of coffee with it." He smiled as he watched her excitedly remove it from the box and place it on the counter.

She looked back over her shoulder and gave him a genuine smile. "Thank you, Luke. You really didn't need to bring this stuff over here."

"Yeah, I did. But you're welcome."

Andy could feel the awkwardness growing between them as she watched him lean against the counter and clear his throat. "So, how have you been?" he asked.

"Good," she replied easily. "How about you?"

He shrugged. "I've been okay. They offered me a position in Montreal."

Andy turned to face him. "That's great, Luke!"

He ran a hand through his hair as he nodded. "Yeah, it's quite the promotion."

"You going to take it?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest.

He nodded again. "Yeah," he said. "I think I am."

"Well, that's really great," she said as she hopped up on the counter opposite where he was standing. As much as she tried to fight it, she could feel an awkward air build between them.

"Yeah. I think the change of scenery will be good."

"It is a beautiful city."

The sound of a siren directed both of their attention to the window and the reflection of ambulance lights danced on the wall of her kitchen. The sound was just fading out when another round began. "Well, my realtor did say this was an exciting neighborhood," Andy said as she laughed awkwardly. When Luke didn't respond, she glanced back towards him and saw him staring at his feet.

"You okay?" She asked with genuine concern.

"Yeah," he said softly as his eyes met hers. "I, uh… can I ask you something?"

Andy felt her stomach drop as she nodded. "Sure."

He cleared his throat and crossed him arms across his chest. "It's just… I've been hearing something around the barn…"

She could hear the hesitation in his voice and when she realized which rumor he was probably referring to, she couldn't help but laugh. "I'm not pregnant," she stated.

He looked up and the relief he was feeling was written all over his face. "Oh thank god."

His reaction only made her laugh harder. "You think I wouldn't have told you if I was?" she asked after her laughter died down.

"It's not that. Well, I wouldn't blame you if you were and didn't want me to have any part in it but I also didn't know if… you know…"

She arched an eyebrow. "If you were the father?"

"Yeah," he answered sheepishly.

"Well, I'm not." She hopped off the counter and walked over to the couch after suddenly needing space from the man occupying her kitchen. She could hear Luke sigh in the kitchen followed by the sound of his footsteps following her into the living room.

"Andy, I didn't mean to imply…" he paused as he contemplated how to word what he was trying to say.

She scoffed. "That I cheated on you?" she finished for him.

He nodded. "Yeah." When she rolled her eyes at him he ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall opposite the couch. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No, you shouldn't have." She folded her arms across her chest. "How could you even think that?"

He sighed. "I mean, I guess I didn't really. I've just been hearing it from quite a few people and you know I always suspected that Swarek wanted more than just friendship from you."

"You're unbelievable," she said, shaking her head. She opened her mouth to tell him that he had no right to accuse her being anything other than completely loyal to him when a knock on the door stole her attention. Her eyes widened at the realization of who must be standing on the other side of the door and she would have laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation if she weren't so completely flustered.

Luke raised his eyebrows in a nonverbal inquisition into who was at the door but she ignored him as she padded to the other side of the room. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Sam was leaning against her doorframe, wearing a fitted pair of dark jeans, a loose grey t-shirt, and a smirk on his face. "Hey," he said smoothly, leaning in seductively.

She tried to return his smile but she must not have been very convincing as his eyebrows furrowed together in concern. "You okay?"

She was about to tell him she was fine when she heard Luke cough. Sam raised his eyebrows and moved past her into the apartment. She groaned, knowing how much worse her night was about to get. She turned slowly as she shut the door, praying that she wouldn't find Sam beating up Luke for the third time since she'd known the two men when she did.

Luke was still leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and Sam stood in the middle of the room, his feet planted firmly on the ground and his hands shoved in his pockets. Neither of them said a word to each other, and as far as Andy could tell, they were having some sort of staring contest.

She cleared her throat as she leaned against the back of the couch, right in the middle of the two men. "Luke came by to drop off the last of my stuff," she explained as her gaze fell on Sam.

Sam nodded as he narrowed his eyes that were focused intently on Luke. His head tilted to the side and he arched an eyebrow. "I hear you're going to Montreal."

Luke smiled smugly. "Yep. Head detective on the DiMarco case."

"Big case," Sam admitted.

"I'd say so," Luke said with a condescending tone.

"Well," Sam began, a wide mockingly sweet grin forming on his face. "I know I'll miss you."

Andy almost laughed out loud but she caught herself before any sound left her mouth. As her eyes combed over the smirking dark-haired man standing in her apartment, she realized it really didn't matter what Luke thought. If she ever had any doubts about their relationship ending, the last twenty minutes had dissolved them.

As her eyes flicked between the two men, it dawned on her how wrong her first impressions of both of them had been. She used to think that Luke's commitment to his job was a manifestation of an intense passion for justice, a strong moral code, and a compassion for his fellow citizens. But as he stood in front of her, she knew it was simply a need to solve whatever puzzle was put in front of him.

"Yeah, I bet." Luke said, feigning empathy. He unfolded his arms and readjusted the collar of his jacket as he pushed himself off the wall. "Well, this has been fun."

"I'd say so," Sam replied, recycling Luke's own words from only minutes before.

Luke rolled his eyes at Sam before turning to Andy. "Take care of yourself, Andy."

She nodded and gave him a small smile. She followed him as he walked to the door, holding it open for him. He paused in the doorframe, turning back to face her. "I'm sorry for before."

She nodded, not entirely convinced with his apology. "It's fine."

He smiled once more before turning and walking away. She let out a heavy sigh of relief as she shut the door and turned back to Sam, who was sitting on the couch.

She made her way over to him and plopped down beside him, letting her head fall on his shoulder.

"So, what was he apologizing for?" Sam asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into him.

She swung her legs around so that they were strewed across his. "For being a jackass," she mumbled into his chest.

She couldn't see his face but she was sure he had just rolled his eyes. "That's a given. Care to specify?"

"Not really," she said, shrugging.

He didn't push it and for that she was thankful. She knew nothing good would come of telling Sam what Luke had said and being in his arms made it increasingly clear that none of it mattered anyways. She sighed contently as she snuggled up to his chest and felt his head rest against her own.

"I like the new place," he told her.

She smiled as she ran a hand over his chest. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry I couldn't make it earlier to help with the moving," he said softly, his voice slightly mumbled by her hair.

"It's okay," she replied as she drew small circles on his chest. "Chris and Dov helped out."

"Good." He had one hand at the base of her neck and his fingers massaged the base of her scalp.

She felt her eyelids flutter shut and her hand movements slow. "I'm sorry I'm such a bore tonight," she said guiltily.

"It's fine," he replied. "You're not usually very exciting anyways."

She ran her hand over chest and pinched his nipple. She laughed as she felt his body recoil from her abuse. "Not cool, McNally." He groaned.

"Maybe now you'll think twice about saying something mean," she scolded and she felt his chest rumble as he laughed.

They lay together in a comfortable silence as she listened to the rhythm of his heart beating in his chest. The full day of moving had exhausted her and as she thought back to how much work it really had been, her eyelids felt five pounds heavier. Chris and Dov had been nice enough to help her sort through the things at her dad's place, which had been as emotionally exhausting as it was physically. Though, there had been much-needed comic relief when they found a box of her high school memorabilia. She perked up at the thought.

Sam had apparently been as close to sleep as she had been because her sudden movement had him flustered. "Andy? What's wrong?"

She rose quickly from the couch and moved quickly across the living room into her bedroom. "I have something I need to show you," she called out over her shoulder.

"Okay," he said hesitantly.

Less than a minute later, she emerged in a cheerleader's outfit.

His mouth was wide open and all traces of exhaustion were gone from his face. "You're kidding."

Andy glanced down at her outfit as she shook her head. "I was a cheerleader junior year of high school. I went through a lot of phases," she explained.

Sam's eyes travelled slowly from her white and blue top, to the exposed navel, and down her long, almost entirely bare legs. "Apparently," he managed to mumble.

She grinned. She had been extremely pleased that the outfit had still fit when she tried it on at her dad's place and when she called Traci to share the good news, her genius friend had suggested using the outfit to seduce Sam.

"Want to see my favorite cheer?" she asked, still grinning.

He nodded. "More than you know."

"Okay." She braced herself, placing her hands on her hips and stretching her grin as wide as she could.

He got comfortable on the couch, his eyes wide with anticipation.

She took a deep breath and winked. "Hey lions!" she exclaimed.

She motioned for him to answer but he shook his head.

"Say 'hey what'" she whispered as she rolled her eyes.

He let out a short laugh and shook his head again. "No way."

"Hey lions!" She repeated, a little louder.

"No."

"Hey lions!" She repeated herself again, this time considerably louder than the time before.

He smirked from the couch and shook his head stubbornly.

She ignored him and widened her smile. "Hey lions!"

"Hey what," he responded, rolling his eyes.

"Hey lions!" She repeated herself once more.

"Hey what!" He mocked her overly spirited tone.

"Let's get fired up! Get rough, get tough, get mean! Let's get fired up! And roll right over that team!" She rolled her pompom-less hands along with her cheer as she struggled to keep herself together as she fought the urge to burst into laughter.

"Oh my…" Sam's eyes were wide in amazement at the sight in front of him.

"Y-E-L-L! Everybody yell yell! Lions! Lions! Go Lions!"

She moved her hips as she cheered and once she was within distance, Sam reached out and pulled her onto his lap. His mouth crashed down on hers before she even registered she was off the ground and his hands moved into her hair, pulling her even tighter into his body. She could feel his excitement growing as she moved to straddle him, grinning as she made a mental note to thank Traci for her suggestion. His hands travelled lower, his fingers grazing her exposed lower back as one hand slipped underneath her skirt. Her hands raked through his hair as his cupped her behind, pulling her even closer into him.

She removed her mouth from his to place kisses along his jaw and then down his neck. She hesitated at the base of his neck, sucking lightly and nipping him gently when she heard him whisper her name. She rotated her hips, grinning into his neck when she felt him shudder underneath her. Her position of power only lasted a few more seconds before he lifted her off of him and threw her back first down on the couch and lowered himself on top of her. He kissed her hard as his body melted into hers. With one arm bearing his weight, the other travelled over her thigh, slowly making its way upward. Her hands gripped at his shirt, pulling it frantically upwards. He lifted himself from her just enough to pull his shirt off and once it was gone he once again closed the distance between them. He pressed his hips into hers and she heard herself moan his name.

He unlocked their lips and raised himself a few inches above her, his eyes focusing on hers. "If we don't stop now, there's no going back."

"Thank god." She whispered huskily as she smiled mischievously and pulled his face towards hers.


End file.
